Is it liberation,
or separation

2023

Malt, Sugar, Yeast, Barley Tea, Mesh, Water Pump, Arduino, CNN, Second-hand Dining Set, Concrete Blocks, VHS TV, Hand-bound Book

Introduction

This kinetic installation presents a multi-dimensional representation of the how cultural and generational gap is facilitated by self-censoring images during communication between parents and children, and to trigger conversations on how critical it is to arrive at better family dynamics that encourage open communication. It is comprised of a machine-learning Convoluted Neural Network (CNN), a self-automated sculpture, image projection on VHS, and a corresponding hand-bound book discussing the violence and intimacy of first generation immigrants. Through these intersecting components, I delve into the emotional effects of surveillance, not as a public social issue but as a reaction to distrust within intimate relationships, as well as its effect on young adults navigating their individual maturity separate from their households.

PROCESS

The outputs of the Convoluted Neural Network is connected to the physical installation according to the following processes:

Computer Programming

CNN (Convoluted Neural Network) Machine Learning, coded in Python, Google Colab, and Arduino IDE

A Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is a deep learning machine learning model that enables a computer to interpret or manipulate images/visual data. I created a CNN model that is capable of accurately classifying an input image as either "appropriate" or "inappropriate" based on non-Western or non-GenZ standards of social norms. The model was trained and tested to predict more than 33,000 images from my own personal photo library spanning from the years 2016 to 2023, as well as specific prompted datasets acquired from Google images. The 40,000+ predictions were then outputted to a CSV table. Utilizing an arduino board, each data output then determined how the electrical hardware of the installation behaved in the physical space.

Sculpture

Sugar, Malt, Yeast, Barley Tea, PVC tubes, Dining Table, Concrete Blocks, Mesh

I casted my body out of sugar, malt, and yeast by first creating a plaster mold via bandages, and pouring 350 lbs of the sugar mixture inside (each individual batch was boiled at 310 degree Fahrenheit). The sculpture then levitated on top of a dining table tub, which was filled with barley tea. Barley tea, which is a highly common household drink in South Korea, is coincidentally the foundational base liquid for beer. The sculpture was also confined within a mesh "womb."

Throughout the course of the 2-week installation, a water pump system was set up so that everytime the aforementioned machine predicted an "inappropriate" output, a jet of barley tea shot upwards from the tub to the top of the casted sculpture, subsequently dissolving it slowly outside the mesh womb. As the sculpture dissolved, the material components of the body inherently fermented the tub of barley tea into beer.

Additional Components

Image Projection, VHS TV,

Self-Designed and Bound Book

The images that the CNN machine ran through was projected onto a VHS TV directly facing the dissolving sculpture. Due to the TV's defects, the screen made it nearly imoossible to decipher exactly what image was being shown, creating a physical censorship for the viewers. Additionally, all furniture (dining table, dining chairs) featured in the installation originated from a related performance piece in regards to family separation. Lastly, the installation also included a self-designed and hand-bound book containing an excerpt from Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Beautiful. It unravels

intergenerational trauma through an ode to his immigrant mother.