Covert Opperation, 2023. Installation view, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, 2023
Covert Opperation (4 still), 2023, HD video (color, sound; 9:04 minutes)Covert Opperation, 2023, HD video (color, sound; 9:04 minutes)
Whispers of Covert Opperation, 2023, Performance collaboration with Activated Anamorphs, WQED Pittsburgh
Whispers of Covert Opperation, 2023, Detail of Puppets. Cloth, rope, railing, wool ball
Whispers of Covert Operation combines sculpture, text, video, and performance to delve into the intimate, almost mystical, communication between humans and non-humans. Through this interplay, the artist explores resistance to global capitalism within the framework of traditional domination and control.
Borrowing the concept of nomadic puppets, the work reimagines a mask sculpture as an allegorical narrator, a medium bridging humans and various objects. Adopting a perspective distinct from that of humans, this "third-party" voice interacts with the film's protagonist, "I," guiding the narrative and provoking questions about non-anthropocentric ways of understanding technology, the body, and identity.
Drawing inspiration from ancient Chinese decision-making tools, such as the Book of Changes, the artist constructs the script as a guerrilla-style exploration of shifting locations. This approach contrasts the ideas of "Restate" and "Restage," while engaging with the historical trajectories of sculptural materials as trade artifacts. The puppet, used as a spiritual object, recalls traditional tribal responses to the unknown, wherein animal totems served as extensions of the self. Simultaneously, it reflects on contemporary and future interactions between humans and artificial intelligence.
The puppet's manipulability symbolizes the broader manipulation of people and technology today. The film's characters draw from the fantastical adventures of Don Quixote, with soldiers traversing forests and deserts and crossing the natural landscapes of California. This journey merges moving images with natural performances, employing allegorical texts to evoke the possibilities of witchcraft. By rethinking the relationships between humans and machines, nature and culture, self and other, Covert Operation challenges traditional binary oppositions and essentialist worldviews, offering a layered, subversive reflection on identity and technology.
Borrowing the concept of nomadic puppets, the work reimagines a mask sculpture as an allegorical narrator, a medium bridging humans and various objects. Adopting a perspective distinct from that of humans, this "third-party" voice interacts with the film's protagonist, "I," guiding the narrative and provoking questions about non-anthropocentric ways of understanding technology, the body, and identity.
Drawing inspiration from ancient Chinese decision-making tools, such as the Book of Changes, the artist constructs the script as a guerrilla-style exploration of shifting locations. This approach contrasts the ideas of "Restate" and "Restage," while engaging with the historical trajectories of sculptural materials as trade artifacts. The puppet, used as a spiritual object, recalls traditional tribal responses to the unknown, wherein animal totems served as extensions of the self. Simultaneously, it reflects on contemporary and future interactions between humans and artificial intelligence.
The puppet's manipulability symbolizes the broader manipulation of people and technology today. The film's characters draw from the fantastical adventures of Don Quixote, with soldiers traversing forests and deserts and crossing the natural landscapes of California. This journey merges moving images with natural performances, employing allegorical texts to evoke the possibilities of witchcraft. By rethinking the relationships between humans and machines, nature and culture, self and other, Covert Operation challenges traditional binary oppositions and essentialist worldviews, offering a layered, subversive reflection on identity and technology.