My collection plays with the recognition of the ridiculous advancement in biological engineering and how people mutate organisms often for entertainment. Some of the items I found and recreated seemed like they could have been extracted from an alchemy or witchcraft book. So I constructed my piece into a molecular form, having each object as an important makeup for this new molecule. Each little item has a description and instructions on how much to mix. The bottom cup is empty because we are still searching how to combine all these creations and inventions into something catastrophic.

Cutting Hair: “I’ll forget to develop my good habits. Usually I’m fighting the urge to entertain myself.”

House Keys:”Oh, I forget my keys all the time!”

ID card: “Yeah. Sometimes I just don’t remember.”

Glasses: “It’s less about glasses but more about contacts. Sometimes I forget to take off my glasses and wear my contacts, which are better for me.”

Mom’s Birthday: “I am really forgetful. I have a really bad memory.”

Pen cap: “I chose not to remember.”

Appointments:”My head only has space for relevant shit. The rest is in my iphone.”

Headphones:”It’s more like I forget to take them off. So I end up not hearing people.”

I chose to basically become an animal for one day, or at least communicate like one. I realized that knowing how to speak in the same language as the person you’re talking to was a huge advantage. Sure, body language and gestures may get your point across, but it tends to lead to misunderstandings, frustrations, and awkward moments. My experience reminded me of the Tower of Babel affair and the reason the tower was never completed. Once all the laborers spoke different languages and couldn’t communicate with one another, the tower became a disaster. I found that not being able to talk meant I was often left out of conversations and I was able to slip away quickly and quietly without anyone noticing. If I wasn’t with a group of friends, I would go unnoticed. It was as if I had lost my “voice” in this world. And I basically did. With my voice removed, I learned from this exercise that if I didn’t speak my mind, get my ideas across, reach out to people, it’s really easy to be brushed aside.

Another side effect which I found interesting was that when I did make sounds, the sounds tended to be contagious. My friends around me would also start acting silly and bark or meow back and soon we would just become a band of animals.

After the whole experience, I thought it would be really funny if this way of communicating could really become another “language”. I created a spreadsheet/instructions manual to teach other people how to “talk in animal” so they would be able to understand my “language” as well.

In: desire to succeed
Process: schoolwork
Out: grades
Change: Write in Cursive instead of print.

In: Motivation to improve
Process: Practicing Guitar
Out: Improvement in skill and self-satisfaction
Change: Play with Teeth instead of hands

In: Need to carry items to class
Process: Storing all of books and folders in backpack
Out: Ability to carry many items around
Change: Carry things with little purse

In: Tiredness, wanting to rest
Process: Sleeping
Out: Replenished energy
Change: Sleeping with stuffed animals instead of blankets.

In: Wanting to absorb more knowledge
Process: Browsing the web
Out: learned knowledge
Change: Learning from a book instead of from a laptop.

In: Hunger/Food
Process: Eating/Digestion
Out: fulfillment
Change: Eating only vegetables.

In: Desire to reach a location
Process: Transportation:
Out: Reaching the destination
Change: Walk everywhere instead of going by Vehicle

In: Social Norms
Process: Behaving in acceptable ways
Out: Ability to fit in
Change: Eating on the table from the chair vs. eating on the chair from the table

In: Wanting to connect with people online
Process: chatting through online
Out: self-satisfaction and connection with old friends.
Change: typing in chinese instead of english

ONE DAY:
In: Desire to communicate with others.
Process: Greeting/talking to others.
Out: Recognition, Reciprocation
Change: Communicate using only animal sounds

A short clip from my day…..