Life A: floating senses

2025
300 x 300 x 200 (h) cm
acoustic levitators, robots, silicon, metal, plastic, pipes, arduino, 4-channel speakers

In a dark space inside a building in Jangchung-dong, Seoul, an unidentified life form A breathes and exists. At the ends of its black, viscous tentacles, fluorescent particles float in midair. A is a physical embodiment of senses, revealing environmental changes that humans cannot consciously perceive through its body. In response to the movements of visitors and real-time urban environmental data(PM2.5, PM10, NO₂, SO₂, O₃, CO, humidity, temperature, atmospheric pressure, and wind speed), its tentacles and particles vibrate, while its voice shifts according to air quality. Through this, visitors intuitively experience how the environment affects perception.

The environment we live in contains countless changes and traces, which permeate our existence through breath and senses. 『Life A: floating senses』 explores the relationship between this invisible environment, perception, and existence, revealing the influence of environmental factors we often overlook in daily life. By collecting real-time atmospheric data from Jangchung-dong and translating it into A’s movements and sounds, the work allows audiences to experience these invisible changes visually and aurally.

The fluorescent plastic fragments floating at the tips of A’s tentacles metaphorically represent airborne microparticles. As they tremble and drift in response to environmental changes, they emphasize the instability of perception and existence, reminding us that the air we casually breathe is in fact a fundamental element shaping our bodies and senses.

This work combines technology and art to render the invisible environment perceptible, exploring the chain of “environment → perception → existence.” It suggests that we exist only through our interaction with the environment, and that the environment is already an integral part of what constitutes us.

Using acoustic levitators, ultrasonic waves suspend plastic particles in midair, while artificial intelligence analyzes real-time environmental data to generate A’s unique language and voice. Visitor-tracking data influences the movement of A’s tentacles and particles, and a 4-channel surround sound system disperses sound throughout the space, creating an immersive and constantly shifting auditory experience.

Ultimately, the work reveals how the unseen environment and the invisible particles within it shape our perception and existence, encouraging viewers to become newly aware of the air they breathe and their relationship with the environment.

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funded by Paradise Cultural Foundation

acoustic levitators: UpnaLab
robot stands: C2 Artechnolozy
silicon skin: Una Ryu
videography: Kwanhee Yoon
photography: Paradise Cultural Foundation, Kwanhee Yoon