Epoch - Soundscape fossils 2024
Experiential Sculpture, Stero Sound, Moving Image, Performance

An interplay of scientific data, artistic expression and interactive technology, Epoch – Soundscape Fossil is a multi-sensory, immersive exploration of the ecological consequences of climate change on coral reefs. It invites viewers to reflect upon the ephemeral nature and the disconcerting loss of biodiversity that coral reefs have come to symbolise. Drawing on the scientific community’s use of sounds that emanate from landscapes (soundscapes), the project utilises audio records of a thriving coral reef collected by marine biologists off the coast of Indonesia and translates this acoustic data into 3D printed ceramic sculptures.

The artist approaches printing as a process of gradual layering akin to the formation of fossils over time. Each layer of a sculpture undergoes pre-determined data translation and is accompanied by manual adjustments, adding a sense of tension, vitality and distinctiveness to the final creation.

The digital monuments stand as symbolic representations of grief and remembrance, allowing viewers to experience and interact with the soundscape of healthy coral reefs, creating a poignant juxtaposition with the present-day reality of decline.




Awards:
Best Creation for Climate Change, 2024 BottleDream Festival
Top Ten Installation, 2023 Dubai Design Week by AD Magazine
Featured in Tate Etc Autumn 2023 Issue 59
Reported in The European Times 2023 Issue 617
Best Experimental Design Award, 2023 Award 360°

Exhibitions:
2024 New Designers
2024 BottleDream Social InnovationFestival
2023 Dubai Design Week
2023 London Design Festival





Oceanosmos,2023

Installation: Chang Meng, Ke Peng
Sound: Zhao Jiajing
Glass: Zidi Gong

Performable audiovisual installation, Ambiensonic, Laser, Metal, Glass, Water, Approx 8:00

Exhibition:
Mirror Mirror on the Wall, IKLECTIK Art Lab, London
Whisper of the Unseen: Sonic Alchemy, St John’s on Bethnal Green, London

Oceanosmos is an immersive audio-visual installation inspired by the "oceanic feeling,” as described by writer Romain Rolland. It aims to convey a sense of the infinite and eternal, where the self dissolves, merging with the external world. Freud interpreted this "oceanic feeling" as a primitive self-awareness retained from infancy. Oceanosmos creates an immersive space using spatial sound, laser planes, projections, smoke, and water interaction to explore this "oceanic feeling" – a spiritual experience where the self and the world become one.

Oceanosmos employs an Ambisonic multi-channel spatial sound array, weaving sounds from the ocean and within the human body to create a generative immersive sonic landscape. The work processes sound samples recorded from underwater microphones and portable recorders using chaotic algorithms, resulting in a generative soundscape that hovers between the concrete and the abstract. Through the cues provided by generative sound, Oceanosmos aims to construct a world that exists between the deep sea and the womb, enveloping the audience completely. It encourages the audience to explore the blurred boundary between the external and the self.

The visual installation takes shape in multiple womb-like glass sculptures, constantly modulating the laser projection. Programmed mechanisms create ripples on the water's surface, using refracted lasers to produce different visual patterns. Sound coordinates with programmed projections and lasers to deliver an experimental cross-media narrative. Through immersive nonlinear storytelling, the work guides the audience to explore the relationship between the internal and external, dissolving the boundaries of the self and establishing continuity with the surrounding space.





Beyond the Breathe, 2023

Dance Theatre, HD Live Generative Image, Stereo Sound, Projection, Approx 8:00


Enduring the weight of human conflict, A desire to immerse one’s body in endless depths. Holding one’s breath, embodying an eternal desire to be submerged, delving into the water with deep breath.



Creative Director / Choreographer : Donna Kim
Performer : Donna Kim, Harry Symington, Jacob Zang, Simone Martis
Visual Director : Seong Kim
Art Director : Chang Meng
Sound Design & Composition:Zhao Jiajing
Light Design: Chang Meng, Ke Peng
Projection Mapping : Chang Meng, Ke Peng
Documentation : Harry Ma
Glass maker : Zidi Gong
Costume Design : Yuxuan Feng
Costume Assistant : Yixuan Qiu
Hair & Make up : Dongha Kim
Stage Assistant : Kaixin Yuan
Photography : Amber Derrick
Film : Sunghoon Song

Special thanks to Peter Brooks,
Athina Vahla, CSM Performance Technical Team




LING靈, 2023
Dance Theatre, HD Live Moving Graphics, Stereo Sound, Projection, Stage Lighting, Fabric, Clay, Approx 25:00

Exhibition:
Fish Tank Festival of Contemporary Dance, The PlaceThe Place, London

‘Ling’ (靈): Derived from oracle bone script, (雨) rain from above, in the middle is (口) mouth,
Shaman(巫) down below. The Shaman's persistent prayer for rain, with ‘Ling’ can also extend to refer to sacred spirits.


Director/Choreographer: Yijun Deng
Co-director, co-producer: Chang Meng, Bryan Yueshen Wu, Jeanyoon Choi
Dancer: Amanda Pang, Jiayi Fan, MingChin Hsieh, Zejia Zhang
Painting performer: Agelos Kotzias
Visual design:Chang Meng, Bryan Yueshen Wu
Visual programmer: Bryan Yueshen Wu, Jeanyoon Choi
Lighting programmer: Bryan Yueshen Wu, Mark Webber
Sound design and music: Lapis
Project advisor: Florence Peake, Lauren Potter, Orrow Bell, Vania Gala
Photo credit: Ruiduo Jiang, Sunghoon Song
Special thanks: James Hendy, Tom Hastings, Sophie Clements


© Chang Meng