Voeed Chao Wang

This work is site-specific and multi-version; each versionis customised for a specific exhibition site or collection, with the siteindicated in the latter part of the title of each version.

Looking through a lens reveals the world while distortingit. In an age of exponential technological growth, when our perception of thecity is mediated through omnipresent optical apparatus—cameras, CCTVs,surveillance—this work seeks to reclaim the "aura" of art that WalterBenjamin believed was diminished by mechanical reproduction, the aura thatgenuinely belongs to an unmediated seeing individual.

The process of making this work began with a series of 3Dscans surrounding the site of its exhibition or collection (therefore, thiswork has multiple versions, each customized to a specific display location).These 3D-scanned models were then shattered into two-dimensional images andsubsequently reconstituted into Artificial Intelligence image generation modelsthrough Stable Diffusion, from which videos of indeterminate length weregenerated.

Through this process, every single visual element in thevideo originates from the physical space surrounding the viewers on-site, whilethose elements compose a sequence of illusory spaces no human has everphysically experienced before. This imbues the resulting video with an inquiryinto authenticity, evoking the feeling of strolling through the city's streetsand rediscovering the familiar in an entirely new light.

Paraphrasing Walter Benjamin, the artist considers thisprocess "a crystallization of the totality of events glimpsed inindependent moments of time," emphasizing how individual fragmentscontribute to the perception of a unified whole in our urban experiences. It isalso a pursuit of compassion for the cognitive being and solace for humanityamidst the torrent of technology.