Eve Clone SeriesLin, Pey-Chwen 林珮淳

Today, I am pleased to have the opportunity to introduce my work, Eve Clone, to all of you. My work, Eve Clone, embodies an attempt to shape a product of human technology through a combination of hologram technology, sculpture, and interactive devices.

Human being creates works that are not only creative and eye-catching, but also hold the potential to lead new trends in fashion and popular culture that dramatically change people’s lifestyles and values. This would be considered a creative success for a designer and a commodity enterprise. In addition to brands and popular trends, engineers of technology have also been coming out with many amazing developments in design for every era. For example, air conditioning, automobiles, cell phones, the Internet, media, computers, televisions, electronic goods, and other digital products have all become necessities in the pursuit of enjoyment, comfort and convenience in life. It can be said that they have become symbols for progress in mankind’s technological civilization.

Technology Create Comfort and Convenience in Life

  Furthermore, agricultural experts have also pioneered centralized crop growing methods, insecticides, chemical fertilizers, and herbicides. To reduce labor costs, chemical agents are being applied to crops via aerial application. Scientists have even created genetically modified crops to solve food shortage problems. In addition to the manipulation of nature, scientists also cloned the first mammal, a sheep they named “Dolly”, all in the name of medicine. This led to a rise in experimentation with the cloning and interbreeding of different species. Today, mankind has gone so far as to use human genes to clone human beings, which can be said to be the ultimate product of design.

Scientists Create Pesticides & Chemical

Scientists Create Dolly

  Mankind’s “technological civilization” has made life easy, comfortable and convenient. However, it has also led to a great waste of natural resources. In response, nature has begun to push back in the form of natural disasters. For example, Typhoon Morakot caused a landslide that destroyed Xiaolin Village and buried 500 residents in Taiwan in 2009. Large amounts of air pollution emitted by factories and vehicles have also caused extremities in climate conditions due to global warming. However, people cannot seem to resist the temptations offered by such a technological civilization. Even after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, people have been continuing to invest in nuclear power.

A Great Consumption of Natural Creates Environmental Problems - Typhoon Morakot

Technology Creates Global Warming

Nuclear Create Disaster - Fukushima in Japan

Furthermore, cell phones, computers, and the Internet have become ubiquitous since life, work, and entertainment all rely on such technologies. In addition to living with the risk of exposure to electromagnetic waves and radiation, people now exist in a society that cannot function without digital data and passwords in the form of personal identification numbers, bank accounts, credit card numbers, gate security codes, or surveillance data. In 2013, the United States government even passed a legislative bill to legalize the implantation of a chip in one’s right arm to track an individual’s medical data. The computer now has full control of people’s personal information and behaviors.

  In addition, technological breakthroughs in the form of genetically modified foods have become even greater causes for concern. Though found to cause tumor growth in mice, genetically modified seeds were approved by the United States government for distribution and sale by Monsanto Company. More extreme examples of genetic engineering can be found in the splicing of animal and human genes, an act that alters God’s original creations. By creating new life forms, mankind has been acting on its desire to play the role of the Creator. In the name of prolonging life, scientists have been recklessly conducting unscrupulous experiments, which they claim to be signs for scientific progress and achievement. Yet, they remain oblivious to the adverse consequences these genetic mutations will have on mankind.

GMO Foods Cause Tumor

Arrogance has led people to alter the original creations of God. Although technological products have their attractive aspects, technology can turn against humanity and end up controlling it, which would result in dire consequences. This is what I want to express with the artwork, Eve Clone. We all know that Eve was the first woman created by God, and an artificial version of her created through technology is nothing but unnatural. For me, the Eve Clone represents anything that is artificial, dangerous, manipulative, and cloned. First, the Eve Clone must be seductive because the establishment of a “technological civilization” is considered progress in the eyes of most people. Therefore, I referenced the goddess, Venus, when creating this work.

Afterwards, to express the strange beauty associated with the unnatural conditions, hybridism, and alteration of Eve Clone, I covered the body, head, neck, and limbs of Eve Clone with the texture of a “morphing chrysalis.” To create a form that would allude to a human-beast hybrid, I added snake skin and horns to her face and head. By applying gold, silver, bronze, iron, and ceramic textures, I created an artificial appearance to her skin. Then, I sought to represent the essence of technology: artificial life expressed through the “hologram” works of The Portrait of Eve Clone series. The “hologram” medium can create an eerie sensation because it radiates a greenish glow. The image is only visible under a spotlight, conveying the peculiar phenomenon that there is no image without light. The Eve Clone only comes to life when these spotlights are directed onto her, revealing her artificial attributes. Under a spotlight, the Eve Clone’s attractive gaze follows the viewers’ movements. Although the Eve Clone is not connected to a computer, her eyes remain fixed on viewers as they move. From each angle, her gaze and posture appears different, making it seem as if viewers are able to manipulate her movements. Yet, she just appears to be staring back. Her motions, which are dictated by the presence of viewers, is an interpretation of the relationship between “creator” and “creation” as well as “controller” and “controlled.”

Production Process of Eve Clone Series 2010-2014

Portrait in Hologram Media

The Portrait of Eve Clone2011-20123D Hologram, Acrylic Frame, Spotlight46cm x 57.5cm x 4cm x 16 pieces501 Contemporary Art Center, Chungking, China, ART STAGE SINGAPORE, SingaporeNational Taiwan Museum of Arts, Taichung15th Media Art Biennale WRO Pioneering Values, PolandMOCA, Taipei

He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads; (Revelation 13:16)

and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:17)

Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six. (Revelation 13: 18)

666 given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads

666 in Different Languages

3D Molding

Portrait in Hologram Media

Emphasizing Eve Clone’s facial features through the use of 3D hologram technology, her gestures and expression are presented through a variety of angles. Each face is made of a different skin texture. As viewers look at her from these angles, they will be surprised to find that the Eve Clone continues to stare back and follow the movement of them, hinting at the dangers of temptation lurking beneath her beauty. On the forehead of Eve Clone, the Mark of the Beast, 666, which is presented in many languages, signals that those who are branded with the Mark of the Beast in the coming great tribulation will not be able to escape the Devil’s control regardless of race, society, or nation. This was based from the Book of Revelation in the Holy Bible.

Exhibition at MOCA Taipei

  Later, to express these corresponding relations, I used webcams, interactive programs, Kinect sensors, and interactive audiovisuals to create the piece, Eve Clone No. 4, which is a large scale projection installation arranged in the shape of a hexagon. For this work, I submerged six Eve Clone heads under water. The “water” symbolizes test tube liquids, and the heads placed in water allude to the image of a life form being bred in a laboratory. As they are being observed and experimented upon, the large life form gazes back at viewers from within their containers as if the influence and power of a “technological civilization” is always lurking in the background of people’s lives. Furthermore, I incorporated sounds of dripping water and interactive sound effects to make the atmosphere seem even more eerie. To convey the transparent properties of water, I installed webcams to capture the site from diagonal angles and combined these captured images with reality to create an underwater illusion. When there are no people present, the bubbles in the water continue to rise to the surface, and they are accompanied with the sound effects. The Eve Clone is as still as a corpse. Yet, the moment a person stands in front of the installation, the Eve Clone comes to life. With an intent stare, her eyes follow viewers wherever they go. Sometimes, interactive sound effects are triggered. With this, I want to show that, though she is looking at viewers, the Eve Clone is still under their control. Again, this reveals the corresponding relationship between “creator” and “creation” as well as “the controller” and “the controlled.” Such a corresponding relationship defines the relation that people have with their “technological society,” which is exactly the issue explored by the Eve Clone series.

Mass Production of Eve Clone3D Animation8″ x18 pieces Digital Photo Frame2011Galerie Grand Siecle, Taipei

Within each digital frame, an Eve Clone floats in a test tube, showing its current stage of development in theexperimental process. Each Eve Clone is a different color and has the Mark of the Beast, 666, branded on them in 18 various languages. By freezing the image to capture a 360 degree, self-rotating view of Eve Clone, two characteristics of clones are represented – mass production and standardization.

Fingers of Eve Clone2011Medical Glass Tube, Poly Sculpture, Acrylic Frame Spotlight60cm x 30cm x 5cm x 6 pieces

MOCA, TaipeiNational Taiwan Museum of Arts, Taichung

Fingers placed into medical test tubes are used to symbolize organ cloning. Each severed finger is bent and imprinted with the Mark of the Beast, 666. The test tubes are neatly arranged like a specimen presentation.

After completing the first two series of works, I noticed that the Mark of the Beast is also described in the Book of Revelation to appear on the forehead and right hand. As a result, I created the Eve Clone Hand Series. First, I took the mold of a real hand to create a sculpture. On it, I displayed the Mark of the Beast in six different languages. Each pair of hands features different skin textures, such as snake skin, bark, metal, shell, or pupa, which express the genetic mutations undergone by Eve Clone. Later, I placed the six pairs of hands into formalin containers. Intentionally placed in different positions and illuminated with a green laser, these mutated, artificial life forms seem to be in the process of incubation and preservation.

The Hands of Eve Clone2011Medical Glass Jar, Poly Sculpture, Laser25cm x 25cm x 43cm x 6 piecesGalerie Grand Siecle, TaipeiART STAGE SINGAPORE, SingaporeNational Taiwan Museum of Arts, TaichungMOCA, Taipei

666 given marks on their right hands

Different Skin Textures

Aside from being imprinted on the forehead, the Mark of the Beast, 666, also appears on Eve Clone’s right hand. Placed in six medical jars, hands made of resin are all branded with the Mark of the Beast, simulating organs that are stored in formalin for experimentation. The skins of the right hands are composed of snake skin, tree bark, pupa skin, shell, metal, ore, and other materials, representing the genetic mutations of Eve Clone.

Exhibition at MOCA Taipei

Revelation of Eve Clone2011Interactive Installation, Moving Image, 3D Animation, InteractiveSystems, Web-Cam, Computers, ProjectorsGalerie Grand Siecle, TaipeiART STAGE SINGAPORE, Singapore15th Media Art Biennale WRO Pioneering Values, Poland

Reference of the textRevelation 13:13-15And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,( Revelation 13:13)

And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. ( Revelation 13:14)

And it was given unto him to give breath to it, even to the image to the breast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed. ( Revelation 13:15)

He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads; (Revelation 13:16)

and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:17)

Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six. (Revelation 13: 18)

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, (Revelation 17:1)

with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those who dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her sexual immorality." (Revelation 17:2)

And on her forehead a name was written, "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

He said to me, "The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. (Revelation 17:15)

The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth." (Revelation 17:18)

For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from the abundance of her luxury." (Revelation 18:3)

“ Revelation of Eve Clone No.2” continues the attempt to record the dynamic images, times, and Biblical texts of “Revelation of Eve Clone” using the features of high-tech holographic media.  Aside from being able to more truly store its original appearance, it is also able to present it as if across a flat hologram, discussing the new document concept of the solidification of time that instantaneously turns to the moving image according to the viewer’s point of view.  It is a documentation of the dynamism of artificial life, creating a new form of document for the digital era .As opposed to a theatrical setting with wide projection and motion graphics, this series creates a one-on-one, close-up way of looking, reading, understanding and interacting through a 2D medium. In this work, the image of Eve is frozen and fixed in the photographs, confined to a flat screen and limited space. Nonetheless, as viewers gaze at the images from different angles, they are again activated and brought back to life to reveal their inner desires.

Eve Clone IV20123D Animation, Computer, Interactive System, Kinect, Web Cam, ProjectorNational Taiwan Museum of Arts, TaichungMOCA, Taipei

666 given marks on their foreheads

Exhibition at National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts

Exhibition at National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts

Revelation of Eve Clone Revelation of Eve Clone IIII2012Hologram, Spotlight67x53x4cm each, 6 PiecesMOCA, TaipeiTaipei Digital Art Center

The work in the hallway is Revelation of Eve Clone II, which is Lin’s new series of holograms which she has developed in recent years. As opposed to a theatrical setting with wide projection and motion graphics, this series creates a one-on-one, close-up way of looking, reading, understanding and interacting through a 2D medium. In this work, the image of Eve is frozen and fixed in the photographs, confined to a flat screen and limited space. Nonetheless, as viewers gaze at the images from different angles, they are again activated and brought back to life to reveal their inner desires.

Revelation of Eve Clone IIIRevelation of Eve Clone III2013Interactive Installation, Moving Image, 3D Animation, InteractiveMOCA, Taipei

Production Process of Revelation of Eve Clone III

Revelation of Eve Clone III 

The Eve Clone Series stands as a critique of mankind’s use of technology to challenge the original creations of the Creator. Can people really entrust their survival to an artificial nature and life? Though faced with the phenomena of El Nino, global warming, melting ice caps, chemical spills, earthquakes, landslides, volcano eruptions, nuclear disasters, overpopulation, rampant consumerism, mutations, and others, mankind continues to push the frontiers of technology and the science of genetics to alter nature and life. What will the eventual fate of humanity be? That is the crucial issue in “Eve Clone” series I try to question.  

Also, I draw from the Bible’s Book of Revelation for inspiration. For example, the Mark of the Beast, 666, is seared onto the forehead and hands of the Eve Clone, forming parallels between mankind’s reliance on technology and being marked with Mark of the Beast, a devilish number (e.g. modern people are already held hostage by serial codes, product codes, bank accounts, ID numbers, and computer passwords). This is exactly what the Book of Revelation had prophesized: ”He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads; (Revelation 13:16) and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:17) Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six. (Revelation 13: 18)” 

  Using wide projection screens and computer-processed images, Revelation of Eve Clone No.3 presents a unique image of Eve Clone, a technological human species that has both authority and cloning ability, along with cautionary verses from the book of Revelation in the Bible transcribed in six languages to define and foreground this post-humanist Eve created through technology. She is beautiful as well as dangerous, and she is worshipped and courted blindly. The immersive space created through projection on a large curved surface, the religious songs playing in the background, and the interactive design make Eve Clone appear charismatic. However, this work is also a criticism of people’s worship of technology, which gives unlimited potential for development but which is possibly causing the downfall of the human race and leading the world to a disastrous end as technology gains a hold on man’s selfish desires.

Following are the texts of the Book of Revelation applied in the work:

And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,( Revelation 13:13)And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. ( Revelation 13:14)And it was given unto him to give breath to it, even to the image to the breast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed. ( Revelation 13:15)He causes all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, and the free and the slave, to be given marks on their right hands, or on their foreheads; (Revelation 13:16)and that no one would be able to buy or to sell, unless he has that mark, the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:17) Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six. (Revelation 13: 18)One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, (Revelation 17:1)with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those who dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her sexual immorality." (Revelation 17:2)And on her forehead a name was written, "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." (Revelation 17:5)He said to me, "The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. (Revelation 17:15)The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth." (Revelation 17:18)For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality, the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from the abundance of her luxury." (Revelation 18:3)

Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. sawest: Chaldee, wast seeing.( Daniel 2:31)

This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, thighs: or, sides. (Daniel 2:32)

His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. (Daniel 2:33)

I use the name, Eve Clone, to refer to mankind’s use of technology to subvert the creations of God. Using genetic cloning techniques to create life is akin to mimicking God’s creation of Eve. Yet, what will life created under such a pretext of hubris and desire look like? To portray Eve Clone as a virtual but attractive life form, I use digital media of 3D animation, dynamic hologram, and interactive systems to create a virtual and seductive woman that interacts with viewers in front of artworks. 3D animation is particularly useful in creating bizarre images of humanoid pupae and creatures whose necks and spines have pupa- or beast-like skin and bone textures. The image of this woman’s body is shaped like the Venus, and stands as a metaphor for the ideal woman (her creation adheres to the patriarchal standards inherent in the field of technology).

Revelation of Eve Clone IVRevelation of Eve Clone IV2014Motion graphics3D animation, Electronic Music Composure,Color with Sound, Single Channel DVD Loop08:01Queens Museum of Art, NewYork

Humanity now opposes the laws of nature and tries to change God’s creation through the development of a technological civilization, including such actions as manipulating nature and employing cloning technology to create artificial life. Although technology brings convenience and enjoyment it may tempt humanity to go down a road of no return. Nature has encountered unrestrained destruction and humanity is facing a series of irreversible disasters through climate change, use of nuclear technology, chemicals in the environment, GM foods, cloning, electromagnetic radiation and computer chips. In order to counter these phenomena, I have used 3D animation to create a hybrid female human, which represents the enticing yet deadly products of scientific experiments. I have named this creature “Eve Clone”: Because God created Eve, humans want to clone Eve.

The “great image” in the Bible inspired me to create “Eve Clone”, which symbolizes the authority and glory of the technology that humans are worshipping.The image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. (Daniel 2:31-33). I have also marked “666″ on Eve Clone’s forehead and right hand—the sign of the beast in the Bible’s Book of Revelations, which symbolizes her control of humanity. (Revelation 13:16-18)

In the video “Eve Clone” is submerged in the sea amidst ruins, the water is stained red as the blood of a corpse (Revelation 16:2-4). Although she escapes from the water, she is ultimately broken to pieces by a stone, becoming like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them. (Daniel 2:34-35)

In the end, the video will show the stone that destroys the image becomes a great mountain. The musical soundtrack is a hymn to represent that the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign forever and ever.( Revelation 11 ： 15 ） The way that the “great image” symbolizes the authority and glory of technology, should remind people that the technological civilization they worship will ultimately be crushed by God.

Great Babylon20143D 動畫、電腦、螢幕Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning,New York,USA

Great Babylon is the new series following the final edition of my Eve

Clone series. In the Eve Clone series, the Biblical prophecy of the

Mark of the Beast, 666, and the Whore of Babylon are created through

virtual 3D images to serve as a metaphor for the worship of technology

and civilization by humankind - challenging the original creation of

God, transforming nature, and even cloning life. However, these

mesmerizing, artificial products bring with them devastating disaster.

Following this metaphor for the end of the world, I now attempt to to

place Eve Clone into the real world with the Great Babylon series to

remind humankind that the phenomenon of Eve Clone has already

existed in daily life. If humankind continues to oppose God’s will by

placing itself higher than Him, there will be no way to avoid the great

tribulation as written in the Revelation chapter of Bible.

In the film, the Eve Clone stands prominently on the top of the Empire

State Building in New York City. A bird’s-eye view shows the high

density of the buildings and streets, as well as emphasizes it is the

center where humans busily pursue politics, economics, culture,

technology, religion, education, art, and other activities. The Eve Clone

also serves as a symbol for the desires of humankind and the idols that

it has chosen to worship. As a result, the Eve Clone opens up both

hands in a prideful stance as she governs this great city. The film

camera revolves around the Eve Clone, switching from a parallel to a

bird’s eye view of the whole city. However, God watches it and the city

from above, and finally sets fire to this Great Whore of Babylon. The

smoke surrounding it rises up until all physical form has been

destroyed.

Thanks for your listening404 International Festival of Art & Technology

Moscow, 2014