Plastic Landscape - The Reversible World


Project Description

“Plastic Landscape - The Reversible World” is an AI-generated 3D animated video design that shows the apocalyptic and surreal world surrounded by artificial plastic mixtures and objects in the ocean, urban city, Antarctica, and forest. Four different scenes are animated, with the camera panning slowly from left to right. Viewers can observe how the plastics are decomposed at a slower speed by looking at particle animations. Sound is created by the data of the decomposition of plastics. Different types of plastics and speed of decomposition determines the frequency, amplitude, and parameters of audio synthesis. This scene animation is inspired by Ilwalobongbyeong (a folding screen) behind the king’s throne of the Joseon Dynasty. This animation depicts the twist of the landscape. Surreal objects/buildings in this animation made out of plastic look beautiful and mesmerizing at first glance. However, the viewers can notice that they are the decayed objects and destroyed nature impacted by human beings. This new multi-sensory artwork addresses the awareness of plastic pollution through the apocalyptic lens.

이 작업은 디지털 시스템에서 구현되는 인풋/아웃풋 방향이 아닌 역방향 알고리즘 (reverse transfer algorithm)을 적용하여 현재 환경문제의 원인이 되는 미세 플라스틱의 경각심을 알리는 인터랙티브 3D 애니메이션 설치 및 프로젝션 작품이다. 한윤정 작가는 인버스 스타일 트랜스퍼를 이용해 플라스틱 자연 이미지 기반으로 새롭게 가공한 3D 플라스틱 사물들로 가득 찬 풍경을 생성한다. 새로운 역방향 알고리즘이 재구성하는 뒤틀린 디지털 이면에서 펼쳐지는 상상 속 플라스틱 풍경의 네 가지 세계는 풍성하고 밀도 있는 사운드 효과와 더불어 몰입도를 상승시킨다. 이 작품은 한윤정 작가가 지난 수년간 지속해온 기후변화 데이터 예술 활동의 연장선상에 있는 작업으로 관람객에게 기후 변화 현실을 직시함과 동시에 플라스틱으로 파괴된 미래세계를 경고하며 스스로의 행동 변화를 실감하게 해줄 것이다. 이 작업은 역방향 알고리즘 적용 과정에서 의도적으로 에러를 허용하거나 데이터를 지우고 복잡도를 줄이면서 디지털 사일런스의 공학적 측면을 시도했다. 또한 햇빛에 비치는 사물의 뒷면에 나타나는 그림자처럼, 공학 분야에서 명명되는 이원성 (Duality)을 인공지능에도 적용하여 그 이면을 찾아가는 과정을 작품에서 구현하고자 했다.

전시 관련 기사: 울산시립미술관, 예술-과학 협업 전시 '뒤틀린 데이터'2부 전시 개막
울산시립미술관, 예술·과학 협업전 '뒤틀린 데이터' 2부 개막
28일 울산시립미술관, '뒤틀린 데이터'전 세미나

Info
Year: 2023
Type: Video Installation
Tools: Custom algorthm for Maching Learning-based image creation, Blender

Concept Design, Visual Development, User Experience Design: Yoon Chung Han
3D Animation and 3D object design: Hung-Hsuan Tsai
Music and Sound: Soo Jung Kwak
Machine Learning-based image creation Prof. Sung Lyun Kim, Myeong Hun Seong, Changmin Lee

This artwork is a part of the Digital Silence project in collaboration with Ulsan Art Museum and the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering in Yonsei University.
이 작품은 디지털 사일런스의 프로젝트의 일환이자 울산 미술관의 지원으로 제작되었고 연세대학교 전기전자공학부와의 협업으로 만들어진 작품입니다.

Upcoming/Current Exhibitions 예정/현재 전시

December 15 2023 - January 21, 2024, Seoul Light Gwanghwamun 2023-2024 (서울라이트 광화문), National Museum of Korean Contemporary History (대한민국 역사박물관), Seoul, South Korea


December 12-15 2023, SIGGRAPH ASIA 2023, Sydney, Australia


Previous Exhibitions 과거 전시

October 4-29, 2023, 2023 IEEE VIS 2023 Arts Program, Melbourne, Australia


September 25-October 1 2023, "Sea Unseen" Yoon Chung Han Solo Exhibition, Pier Contemporary Gallery 피어컨템포러리 갤러리, Seoung-Su Dong, Seoul, S.Korea


July 5-August 27 2023, 2023 FILE Festival 2023, São Paulo, Brazil



May 4-July 4, 2023, Data Distorted at Ulsan Art Museum, Seoul, S.Korea



May 16-21, 2023, ISEA 2023 Art Exhibition, Nuit Blanche 2023 and Hangars Numberiques



Exhibition View


Excerpt from the Original Video




















Process




Image credit: Myung Hoon Sung (성명훈) and Seong-Lyun Kim (김성륜)

A modified Neural Style Transfer model was used and applied in this video work, "Plastic Landscape-The Reversible World." A customized software was used to input plastic products (shapes, textures) for style transfer and apply it to images of nature, animals, and other geometric shapes. Here, I've attached an image to show a part of the process. The engineers (my collaborators) and I could create morphed nature images in the polluted visual style using various input plastic objects and texture images of plastic objects. I turned the 2D style transferred image forms into 3D forms and arranged them in the scenarios. The 3D forms are the weird-shaped, colorful ones included in nature scenarios (forest, Antarctica, mountain/urban city, and ocean). Engineers also used reversed neural style transfer images to put the images back to the original images. I used particle animations to visualize the concept of microplastic decomposition and also the process of reversed neural style transform. So the idea in this artwork is that the morphed, weird plastic objects were created but they are trying to be back to the nature/original shapes, but it's quite hard as we all know that plastic objects are not 100% possible to decompose and also destroyed nature environment cannon be fully recovered 100% back to the original condition.

Exhibition Views at Ulsan Art Museum in S.Korea
















Exhibition View at FILE Festival 2023 in Brazil


Exhibition View at ISEA 2023 in Hangar Numerique in France












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