Feng Shui Matrix

I am a conceptual artist whose work explores the relationship of art to technology, architecture and culture, with the aim of finding a new typology for the interlacing of these areas. The Chinese philosophy of feng shui is the physical and philosophical positioning matrix for my work. Physically, feng shui associates areas of a room with areas of one's life, so that, for example, one's career could be affected by where the bed is placed or the future could be determined by the placement of the refrigerator. Philosophically, feng shui is a system that investigates the relationships between people and the places they inhabit. In my work I update this ancient form by introducing new technology. I achieve this by using standalone plug-and-play modules, movement triggers, DVDs and audio systems. Through the use of these electronic technologies, I literally facilitate the feng shui concept of redirecting energy. For example, when a person walks into a room she brings her own energy with her. In my work, she then engages a movement sensor, which in turn triggers sound that fills the room. This is the series of energy-based actions that are initiated and activated by a person's energy. I am particularly interested in sound, because one definition of sound is energy in physical form.

Architecture

Feng shui is a method of assessing the nature of a room and altering it to create aesthetic and healing results. The idea of healing is focused on both the people who live in the space and those who experience it. It is believed that through the adjustment of the space, the lives of the people who interact with the space will be affected in a positive way. It is a kind of acupuncture for space, if you will! This idea is of special interest to me because it introduces the idea of social and psychological healing as an aesthetic component in the context of visual ideas.

Fig. 1.

China Blue, Laura's Jabbering Jabberwocky, plug-and-play device, audio recording, Plexiglas, lamp and movement sensor, 13 X 41 X 17 inches, 2002. The piece is equipped with a movement sensor that when triggered plays a recording of Laura Miller speed-reading Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky" in less than a minute.

© China Blue

Technology

The movement sensors are used in conjunction with stand-alone, plug-and-play electronic modules that are connected to speakers. The movement sensors trigger sound from the modules. When a person walks by or interacts with the space, a sound is heard. This idea of interaction and contact is critical to the concept of the work because it stimulates a direct and physical engagement of the viewer with the space while simultaneously establishing a connection between the work and the architecture of the room. This part is particularly interesting because it illustrates in a very direct and simple way the Buddhist concept of the interconnectedness of the world. In the piece Laura's Jabbering Jabberwocky (Fig. 1), the sensor triggers an audio recording of Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky." This recording, made with the goal of reading the poem in a minute or less, scrambles the already humorous-sounding poem and makes it sound even funnier. In the context of feng shui, the element of humor is considered to be healing.

Art and Innovation

Incorporating a Chinese cultural reference is important to the work because it establishes the strategy of imparting another cultural viewpoint. This challenges the Western conception of space as defined by the disciplines of sculpture and architecture. By emphasizing in my work feng shui's inherent architectural references and its idea of the healing qualities of space, I realize a new context for creating and viewing art and simultaneously seek to outline a Chinese (or Eastern) relationship to the production and perception of space as distinct from the dominant cultural viewpoint.