LAB KILL LAB

LAB KILL LAB is a temporally activated feral lab conceived and directed by Shu Lea Cheang and hosted by Technology Media Platform at Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-LAB).

LAB as we know it is laboratory from laborare in Latin, media art lab experiments with equipments, codes, programming. LAB as we don’t know it is activated inter-spaces that defy binary codes while traversing between inside and outside, human and non-human, nature and un-nature, above and underground. LAB KILL LAB situates non-conforming artists in collective camp-together work sessions in association with deep-rooted local networks of activists, cultural workers and all kinds of bio-science labs.

Organized with C-LAB’s production team that includes Escher Tsai, Monique Chiang, Ping Yi Chen, Che Min Hsieh, Mei Hsuan Chen, Chi Hung Tsai, LAB KILL LAB is composed of 5 work stations (1) PHYTOPIA; (2) WATERIA; (3) FORKING PIRAGENE; (4) RICE ACADEMY RICE BUG REVOLT; (5) TECHNOIA; and accompanied by a series of talks, forums, workshops, net streams, presentations and performances.

PHYTOPIA engages in plant governance as prescribed by artist Špela Petrič in her work, Deep Phytocracy: Feral Songs (2018). Investigating cross-species phytopolitics with field tools and participatory performance, PHYTOPIA invites Špela Petrič for an online workshop and plans two trajectories of sensing the forests, respectively led by Ke-Ting Chen of collectors and Dondon Houmwm from Tomong tribe in Hualien. WATERIA analyses water samples collected from the endangered algal reefs along the Taoyuan coastline in North-western Taiwan and brings together three sound artists—Hui Sheng Chang, Yung Ta Chang, Yannick Dauby, one pedoecologist Chiao Ping WANG and Xosé Quiroga of El Instituto para la Monitorización Vecinal de Espacios Contaminados in Barcelona. The three sonic artists further render analysed water data into transmittable S.O.S. signals, calling for urgent rescue actions. In memory of Shih-Chieh Ilya Li (1973-2019), FORKING PIRAGENE brings up “PiraPort based on Pira4all: PiraGene Discovery Campaign” by the elixir Initiative with Shih-Chieh Ilya Li and Audrey Tang, an unrealized proposal written for net project Kingdom of Piracy in 2002. Two invited curators, Yukiko Shikata (Tokyo) and Michael Connor (rhizome.org), bring together 10 projects to further expand, and update the concept that promotes gene writing gene discovery campaign. The 10 projects are IDystopia 2035 by Hsiao-Wei Chiu + Chia-Liang Kao + g0v Community, Ultra Immune Taipei City by Paul Gong + Theresa Tsun-Hui Tsao + Pomin Wu, Exomio Fragmissions by Adriana Knouf, Ryu Oyama, Forkonomy() by Winnie Soon + Tzu-Tung Lee, mutant garden by Harm van den Dorpel, - RNA: TTTTT / DNA: AAAAAA! by Devin Kenny, The Electronic Diaries by Lynn Hershman Leeson, A Book of Mine by Xin Liu and Matter.Farm by Sean Raspet + Francis Tseng. RICE ACADEMY cultures, studies and cultivates rice bugs, examines ways of making audible these hidden agents, encouraging the inner dynamic RICE BUG REVOLT. Rice Academy members are Ming Hsin Lai and Me Chi Yao (Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute), Cheng-Hsien Liang (Chih Shang Duo-Li Rice Co., Ltd), Yao Jen Lai and Chiu Hung Chung (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tatung University) and Mycelium Network Society artists (Shu Lea Cheang, Martin Howse, Taro, Franz Xaver). TECHNOIA, led by Yen Tzu Chang, Hai Ting Liao and Constanza Piña who has been organizing Cyborgrrrls Encuentro Tecnofeminista in South America since 2017, hacks technocultural practices from trans-techno-feminist perspectives. Two workshops are planned (1) Technologies of sensuality, sensoriality and corporality (2) Fuck the soundcheck: Against sexist violence in the sound test.

Shu Lea Cheang aims to re-envision genders, genres, and operating structures. As a net art pioneer, her BRANDON (1998-1999) was the first web art commissioned and collected by Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. In 2019, she represented Taiwan with 3×3×6 at the Venice Biennale. In 2020, she is a Guggenheim fellowship recipient for her current film project UKI, a viral alt-reality scifi cinema.