ELIAS

Text論述

"The Helmert Tower, standing within the GFZ campus as a monument to Germany’s geodetic exploration of space and time, has played a crucial role in history and remains one of Europe’s important coordinate reference points. The roof, once part of the tower and later removed during renovation, now rests beside it. By chance, I discovered the wooden arched structure inside the tower’s roof to be strikingly beautiful, and its mechanical opening system equally fascinating. I felt it absolutely needed to be revealed to the public, and this sudden spark of inspiration led me to choose it as the site for my work.

In discussions with Dr. Niels Hovius, I became particularly interested in one of GFZ’s projects—the GRACE-FO mission, a satellite program for climate monitoring. Two satellites orbit Earth at an altitude of about 490 km, maintaining a distance of roughly 220 km. As Earth’s surface mass changes—through mountains, glaciers, or water shifts—the satellites must continuously communicate, accelerate, or decelerate in unison to preserve their separation and fulfill their task. As an artist, this seemingly technical process captivates me: two twin satellites, silently journeying together in space, engaging in wordless dialogue, holding their distance with precision, and sending their data back to Earth. To me, this act is filled with poetry, solitude, and elegance.

I have always been fascinated by the communication and translation of data signals between devices and machines. In this project, I will use GRACE-FO satellite data—such as coordinates, distance, altitude, and acceleration—and transform it through LLM models and machine learning algorithms into a light-and-text installation. At its core is a slender circular display made of 264 sixteen-segment LED units, showing dialogues and symbols generated from the satellites’ data. The LLM training draws both from scientific records of the GRACE-FO mission and from the playful language of internet memes, anthropomorphizing the satellites’ exchanges into textual conversations and dynamic imagery. With every update and download of new satellite data, the work will continuously evolve, never repeating itself, embodying an ever-unfolding state of computation and imagination.

The title ELIAS emerges from the initials of Echoes of Light in A Silent Space, mirroring the naming of GRACE-FO (The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On).

In biblical tradition, Elias—the prophet Elijah—embodies one who listens to the voice of the heavens. Within this work, the name becomes a metaphor for light breathing in silence: the quiet pulse of radiance that moves through space like an unseen vibration.

ELIAS is both an echo of light and the silent language exchanged between two satellites — a dialogue without sound, unfolding in the stillness between distance and connection."

This project is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan, under the Cultural Kuroshio Initiative.

赫爾默特塔矗立於 GFZ 亥姆霍茲地球科學中心園區內，見證了德國在大地測量學上對空間與時間的探索。它曾在歷史中扮演關鍵角色，至今仍是歐洲重要的座標基準點之一。原本位於塔頂的屋頂，在修復工程期間被拆卸，如今靜置於塔身一旁。一次偶然的機會中，我發現屋頂內部的木造拱形結構極為美麗，其機械式開闔系統也同樣令我著迷。我深刻感受到，這個隱藏的內部結構應該被揭示並向公眾開放；這道突然閃現的靈感，也促使我選擇此處作為作品的設置地點。

在與 Niels Hovius 博士的討論中，我對 GFZ 的其中一項計畫產生了濃厚興趣——用於氣候監測的衛星任務 GRACE-FO。兩顆衛星以約 490 公里的高度環繞地球運行，彼此維持約 220 公里的距離。當地球表面的質量分布因山脈、冰川或水體移動而產生變化時，兩顆衛星便必須持續彼此通訊，並同步加速或減速，以精確維持它們之間的距離，完成觀測任務。

作為一名藝術家，這個看似高度技術性的運作過程深深吸引著我：兩顆孿生衛星在太空中沉默地並行，進行一場無言的對話，以極高的精度維持彼此的距離，並將數據傳回地球。對我而言，這個行為充滿了詩意、孤寂與優雅。

我始終對設備與機器之間的數據訊號如何溝通與轉譯抱持強烈興趣。在這項計畫中，我將使用 GRACE-FO 衛星的數據，例如座標、距離、高度與加速度，並透過大型語言模型（LLM）與機器學習演算法，將其轉化為一件結合光與文字的裝置作品。

作品的核心是一座纖細的環形顯示裝置，由 264 個 16 段式英數字 LED 顯示器所構成，用以呈現由衛星數據生成的對話與符號。大型語言模型的訓練內容，一方面取自 GRACE-FO 任務的科學紀錄，另一方面也融入網路迷因中帶有遊戲性與幽默感的語言，使衛星之間的訊號交換被擬人化，轉譯為文字對話與持續變化的動態圖像。

隨著每一次新的衛星數據更新與下載，作品也將持續演算與演化，永不重複，呈現一種不斷展開的計算與想像狀態。

作品名稱《ELIAS》取自 Echoes of Light in A Silent Space（寂靜空間中的光之迴響）的字首縮寫，其命名方式亦呼應 GRACE-FO——The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On（重力測量與氣候實驗後續任務）。

在《聖經》傳統中，Elias 即先知以利亞，象徵著聆聽天穹之聲的人。在這件作品裡，這個名字成為光在寂靜中呼吸的隱喻——一道安靜的光之脈動，如不可見的振動般穿越空間。

《ELIAS》既是光的迴響，也是兩顆衛星之間交換的無聲語言——一場沒有聲音的對話，在距離與連結之間的寂靜中持續展開。

本計劃由文化部「文化黑潮」計劃贊助