ZHAO JIAJING
赵嘉旌
Compositions
Installations
Sound Design & Soundtracks
Information
CV
Generative Sound Installation //2023
Plants, synthesisers, patch cables, micro-current sensors, plant grow lights, mechanical control infusion devices, modular racks, stereo sound
Size variable
Infinite duration
Data-farm is a generative sound installation. This installation collects and monitors micro-current data from plants, converting it into electronic music in real time. Simultaneously, the plant's signals control LED lights and infusion devices for real-time nutrient distribution, thereby influencing the plant's micro-current patterns over longer cycles, resulting in a feedback loop.
Data-farm draws plants as a medium to explore the essence of “life” in the world of dataism: the object of data extraction and the subject of passive consumption. Data is extracted from individuals in various ways and is recognised and deciphered by higher-dimensional data machines. Data processing organises computations that allocate refined "personalised content" back to individuals for consumption, thereby exerting a profound influence on individuals over longer time scales. This pattern is prevalent in human society, especially online environments, by monitoring people's behaviours and preferences to create information bubbles, is a prime example. We may be like "cultivated plants or livestock" in a data farm. Through the use of unconventional and unsettling visual and auditory elements, 'Data Farm' serves as a thought-provoking commentary on the dystopian aspects of the data-driven world we inhabit today, with the intention of prompting the audience to cultivate a heightened awareness of the pervasive reality of the 'data farm' in our everyday lives.