Seen/Unseen-Entropy n°1

For Seen/Unseen-Entropy n°1, CHANG Yung-Ta arranges pieces of granite of varying sizes, regularly swept by a beam of light. Granite is well known to archaeologists who use dating techniques based on the radioactive gas it emits. Using Geiger-Müller tubes and a computer, these particles are quantified by a device that slowly scans the blocks of granite. They are converted into vibrations through bass shaker placed beneath the basin, creating movements on the surface of the water. In this dark space, the movements of the water and the scanner play with a certain ambiguity, between contemplative slowness and the apprehension of what seems to rumble beneath the surface. While the gr nite appears immutable, the instability of the radiation flux imparts an element of randomness to the work. The entropy mentioned in the title refers to the measure of disorder or the degree of disorganization of a system. With each scan pass, a singular pattern emerges, marking a transient energy captured at a particular moment. The work presents both great technical precision and an unpredictable aspect, forming ripples that are as ephemeral sculptures.

With the support of the National Culture and Arts Foundation, Taiwan.

在《Seen/Unseen-Entropy n°1》中，張永達排列了大小不一的花崗岩塊，並以一道光束規律地緩慢掃描其表面。花崗岩會釋放微量放射性氣體，因此也常被考古學家作為定年研究的材料之一。作品透過蓋革－穆勒管與電腦，量測掃描裝置經過花崗岩時所偵測到的放射粒子，再將數據轉換為震動，傳送至水槽下方的低頻震動器，使水面產生細微起伏。

在幽暗的空間中，水面的波動與掃描裝置形成一種曖昧狀態，既帶有沉思般的緩慢，也隱約喚起對水面之下某種低沉擾動的感知。花崗岩看似恆久不變，然而放射通量的不穩定，卻為作品引入不可預測的隨機性。

標題中的「熵」指涉一個系統的失序程度。每一次掃描都會生成獨一無二的波紋形態，記錄特定時刻被捕捉的短暫能量。作品同時呈現高度精密的技術結構與不可預期的變化，而水面上的波紋，則如同一件件稍縱即逝的雕塑。

本作品獲臺灣國家文化藝術基金會贊助。