scape.unseen_model T

Introductory Text by Martin Guinard, Curator of the 2020 Taipei Biennial

As it would not be possible to study the whole Critical Zone, scientists gather sets of instruments at specific observatories, such as the Taroko Gorge in the center of Taiwan. It was chosen because the geographic dynamics such as earthquake, landslide, erosion, and weathering are particularly active there. Once these processes are measured, the collected data are analyzed in labs off site such as the GFZ in Potsdam. The artist was given the opportunity to conduct a residency in Taroko and in Germany. The installation spreads over two floors (the entrance corridor and the basement courtyard) to remind us that the Critical Zone is above our heads and under our feet. The works in the corridor showcase data, sensors and such, as well as a very sensitive seismometer which captures any movement on the ground—from the steps of the visitors to the planes passing above the museum. In the basement courtyard are nine tubes, which act like a “mini-landscape” factory. Indeed, landscapes are produced in part by erosion: water flow or wind removes parts of the earth crust, such as rock and soil, and transports it somewhere else, creating a relief. The instrument displayed recreates these phenomena on a smaller scale thanks to a system that reproduces the turbulence of the water current of the Li-Wu river in the Taroko Gorge. This agitates the small bits of rock and sand, which hit the surface of the disk and carve them. By the end of the show, the rock disks will no longer be flat; they will be modulated, like a tiny riverbed.

Work Description

It can be difficult to comprehend phenomena that far exceed the length of a human lifetime. This is the case with erosion, the slow process of transformation of landforms through the action of water or wind, among other factors. scape.unseen-model T makes this mechanism visible on a reduced scale. At the bottom, hydrochloric acid is dripped onto marble to produce CO2 and simulate the riverbed. At the top, a solution makes the carbon dioxide visible through color changes related to pH: the more purple the liquid, the lower the acidity. In the center, water is set in motion to move glass beads, mimicking rock fragments carried by the current.

Together, these three parts function as a ‘landscape factory.’ They replicate the conditions recorded at a specific coordinate point of the Liwu River, in the Taroko Gorge in Taiwan – one of the fastest-eroding rivers in the world. Initially perfectly smooth, marble discs placed in the central section will gradually be sculpted by the force of the water and the friction of the beads – just as the bed of the Liwu River is shaped.

Through the compression of time and space, these cylindrical sculptures—composed of systems of erosion, carbon dioxide release, and carbon uptake—generate a new set of Liwu River core samples, establishing a renewed dialogue between data and carbon.

This project commissioned by Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM)for the 2020 Taipei Biennial, ‘You and I don’t Live on the Same Planet’, Co-curated by Bruno Latour and Martin Guinard.

Taroko CZO Data Source：GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences – Geomorphology Section, Prof. Dr. Niels Hovius(GFZ.), Dr. Jens Turowski(GFZ.), WenSheng CHEN, Wei-An Chao, WenYen CHANG, JuiMing CHANG

Mill experimental design：Dr. Jens Turowski(GFZ.), Markus Reich(GFZ.), Gunnar Pruß(GFZ.)

2020臺北雙年展策展人 Martin Guinard前導文

由於科學家無法研究整個地球關鍵帶（Critical Zone），因此會將多組觀測儀器集中設置於特定地點，例如臺灣的太魯閣峽谷。該地之所以被選中，是因為地震、山崩、侵蝕與風化等地質動態特別活躍。這些自然過程經過量測後，所蒐集的數據會送往其他地區的實驗室進行分析，例如德國波茨坦的GFZ 亥姆霍茲地球科學中心。藝術家也因此獲得前往太魯閣與德國進行駐地研究的機會。

這件裝置作品分布於美術館兩個樓層——入口廊道與地下中庭——提醒我們，地球關鍵帶既存在於頭頂之上，也延伸至腳下深處。廊道中的作品呈現數據、感測器及相關觀測裝置，其中包括一具極為靈敏的地震儀，能夠捕捉地面上的各種震動，從觀眾行走的腳步，到飛機經過博物館上空所引發的細微擾動。

地下中庭設置了九支管狀裝置，如同一座製造「微型地景」的工廠。地景的形成部分源於侵蝕作用：水流或風會帶走地殼表面的岩石與土壤，並將其搬運至其他地方，逐漸塑造出地形的高低起伏。

展出的裝置透過一套模擬太魯閣立霧溪水流亂流的系統，以縮小尺度重現這些自然現象。水流擾動細小的岩石與砂粒，使其持續撞擊並磨蝕岩石圓盤的表面。展覽結束時，原本平整的岩石圓盤將產生凹凸與起伏，如同一段微縮的河床。

作品論述

對於遠遠超越人類生命尺度的現象，我們往往難以理解。侵蝕便是如此——水流、風力及其他因素長時間作用於地表，使地貌逐漸改變。《scape.unseen_model T》以縮小尺度，使這一緩慢的地質機制得以被觀看。

裝置下層將稀鹽酸滴落於大理石上，以產生二氧化碳並模擬河床的化學作用；上層則透過溶液因酸鹼值變化而產生的色彩轉變，使二氧化碳的變化顯現出來：液體越偏紫色，酸性越低。中央區域的水流帶動玻璃珠運動，模擬河川中被水流搬運的岩石碎屑。

這三個部分共同構成一座「地景工廠」，重現臺灣太魯閣峽谷立霧溪特定座標位置所記錄的環境條件。立霧溪是全球侵蝕速率最快的河川之一。原本平滑的大理石圓盤置於裝置中央，隨著水流推動與玻璃珠摩擦，表面將逐漸被刻蝕成形，如同立霧溪河床持續受到塑造。

本計畫由臺北市立美術館（TFAM）委託製作，於2020臺北雙年展「你我不住在同一星球上」展出，由 Bruno Latour 與 Martin Guinard 共同策展。

太魯閣地球關鍵帶觀測站（Taroko CZO）數據來源： GFZ 亥姆霍茲地球科學中心地貌學研究部門、Prof. Dr. Niels Hovius（GFZ）、Dr. Jens Turowski（GFZ）、陳文盛、趙韋安、張文彥、張睿明

磨蝕實驗裝置設計：Dr. Jens Turowski（GFZ）、Markus Reich（GFZ）、Gunnar Pruß（GFZ）