scape.unseen_meta-T, 2020
        scape.unseen_model-T, 2020
        scape.unseen_sample-T, 2020

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.

Data Source: Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam—Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum Seismometer and Technical in collaboration with: NCTU Disaster Prevention and Water Environment Research Center Asst. Prof. Weian Chao Technical Support: noiseKitchen Art Co.,Ltd.