chinese

This presentation will explore random e-poetry and interspecies based on two electronic works: one that intersect humanity and insect-like robotics titled “Robot-poem@s”, and an eproject/poem based on a performance with sheep: “Negro en ovejas/Black on Sheep.” Robotpoem@s consist of insect-like robots (five quadrupeds and a bigger hexapod) whose legs and bodies are engraved with the seven parts of a poem written from the robot’s point of view in bilingual format (Spanish and English). Binary constructs such as creator/creature are questioned by these creatures purposely chosen from open-source models resembling insects and spiders, thus emphasizing anxiety and removal from humans while underlying the already problematic relation between humans and technology. The final segment of the poem, number VII, rephrases the biblical pronouncement on the creation of humans, as perceived by the robot: “According to your likeness / my Image.” With this statement, the notion of creation is reformulated and bent by the power of electronics, ultimately questioning its binary foundations. An interface to explore these robopoem@s can be found at tina.escaja.com (requires Flash): http://www.uvm.edu/~tescaja/robopoems/quadrupeds.html. This interface shows the original quadrupeds with options for listening to the poems in three different languages (English, Spanish and Chinese), interacting with 3-D models of the quadrupeds, and experiencing Augmented Reality components triggered by the panels that served as matrix of the robot-poets. On the other hand, “Negro en ovejas” is a digital “ovine poem” which intersects words and sheep in an interactive poetic project that allows random poetry as created by the sheep as they graze in the pasture, a performance enhanced and extended to the possible variants created by a digital interface: https://www.badosa.com/obres/ovino/index.html This project includes, therefore, various levels of poetic action and interaction. First there is the process of constructing the text, the base-poem formed by words which have meaning in and of themselves, but also acquire new meanings by contacting with other words (the noun “Sol” - “Sun”- and the verb “Es” -“Is”- become the plural “Soles” -“Suns”- through proximity or contact). Once the written pieces are constructed, they are assigned to sheep who will freely form poems in a performance of movements and bleating which will become its own entity. Finally, when the event is transferred to the digital artefact, any web surfer can access and reproduce the process in a cybernetic interaction and in an exchange which affords them creative authorship: the web user, just like the sheep, creates the poetic experience, joining forces with  the sheep as well. The presentation of the interface at ELO2019 would potentially capture some of the verses in a suggestion and proposal of new interactive dimensions. Both e-lit projects allow for a questioning of binaries and media-assumptions based on electronics, interspecies and random poetry.

Play the Chinese lottery and see what life was like as a Chinese immigrant to British Columbia.

High Muck a Muck: Playing Chinese is an interactive poem, created through an interdisciplinary collaboration of 11 Canadian artists, programmers and community members. The project consists of an interactive website, 8 videos and an interactive gallery installation. 

High Muck a Muck: Playing Chinese explores the theme of Chinese immigration to the west coast of Canada – both historical and contemporary – the tensions that exist in and between these narratives.

The subject of this interactive story is the tragedy of the chinese migrant workers who died in Morecambe Bay, in Feb 2004. There are many separate and interconnected strands to this story: the experience of the workers who drowned, the bosses exploiting their cheap work, the reactions and feelings of the local people, the families in China and their reactions, and the media/ political reactions and economics behind the story. These strands are parallel narratives through the story. Each one is small view of the bigger picture, giving a different perspective. Users choose path through the separate strands, so that they can affect, choose or change the plot. The intended result is that each user experiences the story in a different way, and gains a unique perspective of the story.

Wandering Meimei / Meimei Liu Lang Ji is a bilingual interactive fiction app designed for mobile interfaces for the Chinese market. This story is an intertext to the traditional Chinese comic strip, Sanmao Liu Lang Ji (Wandering Sanmao), a homeless boy. Meimei, meaning little sister, is an allegorical character and contemporary representation of the largest migrant population the world has ever seen: the migrant female factory worker. Through the app, you can make contact with the character Meimei who works in a smartphone factory in the Pearl River Delta city Guangzhou. Meimei's only technology and access point to the outside world is through her own phone. The social media hub and interface enable you to enter and become a part of Meimei's story.

(Source: ELO Conference 2014)

Flash poem about a tree.

"The Clown" by Shaolian Su, who is a modern poet from Taiwan, is a Flash poem about clowns. Su is the author and designer of this Flash poem. He wrote this poem for clowns in order to illustrates their true value to the audience and society in general. The true value of clowns is that they try to give the audience pleasure but always hide their sadness. A white clown is also a highlight of a drama. The design of it is very simple. There are four rows of clowns’ profiles show on the blue background which looks like a theater. Only one clown’s face can be seen clearly among them. The reader can click the image to start the poem. The content of this poem describes how clowns give the audience pleasure and never show their sorrow. The poem begins, “The clown never died, he left his smile on our faces.” The poem continues, and each line begins with the following sentence: “The clown never died.” Through this poem, Su tries to tell people by this poem that even though the clown will die physically, his soul will exist in audience’s heart forever. (Source: ELD; unreviewed)