Peaked — WA LIU 刘娃

PEAKED
2022
Single-channel video
4 min 33 sec

The video portrays a suspenseful and visceral doomsday journey in the first-person point of view through the lens of a drone navigating the charred remnants of a wildfire. Wa Liu and Yang Bao zoom in on lichens in the rainforest as a paradoxical metaphor for the multi-faceted relationship between humans and the biosphere. Lichens play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity in the ecosystem, but they are also the tinder for the increasingly severe wildfires during global warming. Many lichens reproduce by splitting into clones of themselves or merging with other species, allowing them to keep expanding for centuries. As lichens gradually absorb airborne pollutants and radionuclides over the years, they become the silent chronicler of nuclear testing and climate change. In contaminated zones, drones are deployed to monitor pollution levels and wildfire patterns. In the video, Wa Liu and Yang Bao use a drone to maneuver in the once lively forest that has been burnt down since they last visited.

Drawing reference from the Doomsday Clock, this video features two hours of music from compositions “11 PM” and “Midnight” in Yang Bao’s 24-hour spatial audio piece for piano “GODSPEED.” It compresses the sounds of 120 pianos into one compact and emotionally-charged sonic experience, culminating in a massive soundscape of all living and non-living things altogether inhabiting the same planet. Counting down to midnight, the Doomsday Clock is set every year by scientists since 1947, as a universally recognized indicator of the Earth’s vulnerability to the impending catastrophe caused by nuclear weapons, climate change and disruptive technologies. In 2022, the Doomsday Clock is set at only 100 seconds to midnight.

PEAKED
2022
单频影像
4分33秒

这件影像作品通过一架无人机在森林野火的残骸中穿行，以第一人称视角描绘了一段充满悬念的末日之旅。刘娃与鲍杨聚焦于雨林中的常见植物“地衣”，来隐喻人与自然之间矛盾复杂的依存关系。一方面，地衣在生态系统中发挥着至关重要的作用，长期维护着物种的多样性，另一方面，地衣也在全球变暖的过程中加剧了森林大火的蔓延。许多地衣通过分裂成自己的克隆体或与其他物种融合来进行繁殖，寿命可达几百或上千年。地衣长期吸收着空气中的污染物和放射性核素，无声地记载着核实验以及气候变化的人类历史。在受污染的地区，无人机被用来监测污染指数和森林大火。在这件影像中，刘娃与鲍杨使用无人机再次探访了几年前仍旧生机勃勃的森林，如今所有树木已被烧毁。

本影像作品借用末日时钟的概念，选取鲍杨24小时空间音频作品《GODSPEED》中的“11PM”和“Midnight” ，两首共计2小时长的音乐作品，并将其中120台钢琴的声音压缩成一个紧凑而情感浓烈的声音体验。如同世界之轰鸣，将地球上所有生物和非生物的声音，以偶发性的方式融合为一个宏大的命运共同体。“末日时钟” 的概念诞生于1947年，每年由科学家进行评估，作为全球公认的指标，标示出人类距离全球性灾难的距离，隐喻核武器、气候变化和破坏性技术对地球的威胁。2022年“末日时钟”距离午夜末日的倒计时只剩100秒。