The 9th Digital Art Awards Taipei (Award)

Sunrise, Sunset
Sheng-Chien Hsiao
2013, 05’49”
Traditional Overhead Projector, Bamboo Sieves, Mouth Organ, Motors, Gear Wheels, Air Bag, Container Of Water In Red Color, Soybeans

A brilliant orange setting sun is projected on the wall of the space brimming with gathering twilight.
The sun slowly sinks below the horizon, leaving a touch of the last glow.
After a while, the sun gradually rises and lightens the sky.
Three sets of automatic bamboo sieves are hung in the exhibition room and keep swinging like waves.
The soy beans in the bamboo sieves roll with the rhythm of the swaying motion and produce the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.
We may occasionally hear the gently flowing whistles of a steamship from the corner of the exhibition room.
The development of modern industrial civilization has permanently changed our lifestyle and surroundings. The natural scenery vanished, and the hustle and bustle of cities replaced the cries of birds and insects in our memories. I try to represent the scenery in my childhood memories with the noise and light produced by machines. I create the sound of waves and the distant ship whistles with the mechanical installation composed of a projector and the parts of a scrapped ship, trying to represent the ambience of walking along the shore at sunset in my tender years. The artificial scenery can be read as an allegory of human reckless pursuit of industrial and technological advancement at the expense of the precious natural environment.