Nomadic Wood(Looking)

Nomadic Wood (Looking) – 游木（目）

Philip F. Yuan 袁烽

Nomadic Wood (Looking) is a reflection of the dynamic human perception in contemporary city, with the development of digital technology.

The installation is composed of spirally staggered and curved wooden components. Each component functions as a twisted “digital periscope”. Both ends of the wooden component are installed with a screen and a camera. Through one of the screens, the visitor is able to see the scene of the exhibition space captured by the camera at the other end. Meanwhile, the visitor and her surrounding will also be recorded by a camera and transmitted to another screen to be viewed by other visitors. Here, the digital information flow replaces the real senses, and becomes a new medium, through which human perceptions could be extended across time and space.

Meanwhile, with robotic timber construction technology, each component of the installation is fabricated with three-dimensional curvature to simulate the digital information flow. The curved wooden space stimulates real bodily behaviors such as sitting and crossing, and cultivates dynamic social interactions among the visitors. This construction technology breaks through the traditional linear fabrication method of wood material. By using curved laminated timber technology to shape the raw material, and then by using robotic band saw to cut the material in three-dimensional space, it realizes the high-efficient and precise numerical control of free-form wooden construction, presenting the potentiality of robotic technology in shaping contemporary living environment.

Extending the real senses with digital technology, while using actual material to simulate virtual information flow in return, the installation provides the spatial experience of both “dwelling” and “nomadic”, offering the visitors an opportunity to rethink their perceptions in contemporary urban life.

“游木（目）”是当代数字技术下以游移式感知城市的一个微缩映射。

该装置由弯曲的条形木构件盘旋交错组成。每个构件如同一个扭转的“数字潜望镜”，木制组件的两端均装有屏幕和摄像头，观者可以在一端通过屏幕看到另一端摄像头捕捉到的展厅场景，而他/她本人所处的环境同时也被摄像头拍摄，并以无线传输方式传送到其它屏幕上被别人观看。这里，数字信息流取代了真实感官。新的感知媒介使得观者体验得以穿越时间和空间的限制，漫游延伸。

同时，装置以数字机器人木构工艺反向模拟数字信息的流向形态，形成动态连续的物质化空间体验，刺激休憩和穿越等真实的身体行为，促使观众之间的动态互动。装置的建造突破了传统的线性木材加工方式，通过使用曲面胶合工艺加工出待切原型材料，再以机器人带锯进行三维铣削切割，实现了对自由形态的精确数控加工，展示出传统木构在数字技术下的非线性营造潜力。

最终，以数字技术延展现实体验，同时又用物质形态重现虚拟信息，装置提供了“此在”和“游牧”的双重空间体验，促使观者重新审视当代城市空间中的自我感知。

Credits:

Philip Yuan 袁烽