Activation:
Micro-Language Models of Art
激活：藝術微型語言模型
5/9-5/24 2026
at MiART Space, Changhua Taiwan
Origin
This exhibition develops from an ongoing collaboration between SUP and the National Changhua University of Education (NCUE). Following SUP’s contribution to the 2025 Arts Education conference, the dialogue continues in 2026 through an expanded partnership.
本展覽源於 SUP 與國立彰化師範大學（NCUE）之間持續發展的合作關係。延續 SUP 於 2025 年藝術教育研討會的參與和貢獻，雙方於 2026 年透過更深化的合作，持續展開對話。
In Dialogue with the Conference
Responding to “Interweaving and Co-creation: Diverse Pathways of Art Education”, the exhibition extends the conference into a spatial and material context. Where the conference operates through discourse, the exhibition unfolds through practice. Here, ideas are not defined, but experienced.
回應「交織與共構：藝術教育的多元軌跡」主題，本展覽將研討會的討論延伸至空間與物質的實踐場域。當研討會以論述為運作方式，展覽則透過實踐展開。在此，觀念不只是被定義，而是在經驗中被理解。
Activation: Micro-Language Models of Art
written by Curator Hao-Ning Chang
Activation: Micro-Language Models of Art positions itself against the contemporary paradigm of Large Language Models (LLMs), proposing an alternative cultural model beyond computation-driven systems. In contrast to artificial intelligence systems built through data training and parameter optimisation, the exhibition approaches art as a generative mechanism grounded in perception, relationships, and action. Through four interconnected dimensions : Material, Ecology, Action, and Network. The exhibition constructs a decentralised and sustainable generative system. Within this framework, art is no longer understood solely as representation or expression, but as a process capable of activating reality, reorganising relationships, and continuously generating meaning.
Material: The Generation of Perception and Agency
Within the material dimension, artists reactivate the relationship between perception and objects through material processes, transforming materials from passive carriers into active generative agents. Danny Young combines ceramics with local elements, allowing soil to become a site of cultural memory and embodied labour. Margarita Frančeska Loze employs fibre weaving to translate time and labour into a structural visual language. Shin-En Tasi creates perfume through the fermentation of food waste, transforming discarded matter into an olfactory experience that redefines systems of value and sensory perception.
This dimension resonates with Jane Bennett’s concept of Vibrant Matter, which suggests that matter itself possesses agency and continues to generate influence through relationships. Material is therefore no longer passive, but becomes an active participant in the formation of events. At the same time, this may also be understood as a “perceptual model”, in which the body operates as both an input and output interface, allowing meaning to emerge through sensation rather than existing solely within linguistic systems.
Ecology: The Reorganisation of More-than-Human Relations
The ecological dimension expands artistic practice beyond the individual and towards the natural environment, focusing on coexistence and interaction between human and non-human entities. Pei-Yao Chang reflects upon systems of value through interactions between humans and plants. Yi-Lin Chang focuses on emotional detection between humans and animals, transforming observation into a subtle relationship of dependency and attentiveness. The USR Ecological Healing and Green Sustainability Changhua Ecological Project extends art into tangible forms of sustainable practice through cross-disciplinary collaboration.
This trajectory echoes Richard Grusin’s notion of the “nonhuman turn”, which moves beyond anthropocentric perspectives and positions the environment itself as an active producer of meaning. It may also be understood as a “relational model”, in which meaning emerges through interactions across species and scales. Art therefore does not merely represent nature, but actively intervenes in and reorganises the boundaries between nature and culture.
Action: The Body as a Real-Time Generative Interface
The dimension of action situates art within lived situations, positioning the body as a central node in the generation of meaning. Chia-Hsiang Chang constructs layered environments in which the viewer’s gaze continually shifts between physical space and mediated image. Yi-Hang Yuan uses mobile phones and network communication systems to expose the instability and disorder embedded within contemporary information exchange. Deeqa Ismail employs performance to explore the fluidity and recoding of identity.
This dimension may be understood through performance theory. Judith Butler’s concept of performativity proposes that identity is constructed through repeated acts, while Erika Fischer-Lichte’s “autopoietic feedback loop” describes how the interaction between performer and audience continuously transforms the work in real time. Gilles Deleuze’s notion of the “society of control” further reveals how individuals remain constantly modulated within flows of information. Action may therefore be understood as a “real-time generative model”, in which meaning is continually produced and revised through interaction and situation.
Network: Decentralised Structures of Cultural Production
The network dimension focuses on the conditions and structures underpinning artistic production. SUP (Something Useful Project) establishes transnational connections through international residency programmes, while NOFORMULA, operating outside institutional structures, provides an experimental platform for artistic production. Together, they construct a decentralised network of cultural production.
Manuel Castells’ concept of the “network society” suggests that power shifts from hierarchical systems towards distributed nodes. Nicolas Bourriaud’s “relational aesthetics” frames art as a site of relational production, while Bruno Latour’s Actor-Network Theory emphasises the equal agency of people, objects, and institutions within systems of interaction. Within this context, networks are not simply support mechanisms, but operate as a “structural model” through which artistic practice continues to evolve through connection and translation.
Activation: Micro-Language Models of Art does not position art as a metaphor for large language models, but instead proposes an alternative generative logic: a cultural model grounded in materiality, structured through ecology, activated through action, and sustained through networks. Within this framework, creativity emerges through the activation of multiple relationships, while meaning is continuously generated through ongoing processes of interaction. Art therefore becomes an open system capable of continually rewriting its own rules and conditions of operation.
Participating Artist
Danny Young (UK) Deeqa Ismail (UK). Margarita Frančeska Loze (LV) NOFORMULA (TW) Pei-Yao Chang (TW) SUP (UK/IN/TW) USR Ecological Healing & Green Changhua Sustainability Project (TW) Yi-Hang Yuan (TW) Chia-Hsiang Chang(TW) Yi-Lin Chang (TW) Shin-En Tsai (TW)
Project Credits
Curator
Hao-Ning Chang
Co-directors
Samatha Y Huang
Amit Rai Sharma
Graphic Design
Cheng-Yu Tsai
Photography
Chih-Hsien Lin
Lesile Yang
Supporting Organisations
The USR Ecological Healing and Green Sustainability Changhua Ecological Project
MiART Space
Special Thanks
The InSEA Asia Regional Congress 2026
Arts Education Master Course, NCUE
Supporting Organisation - MiART Space
MiART is a small contemporary art space established in 2025 and situated within the dessert brand MiSS. Through the opening of an everyday environment, MiART aims to make art more accessible and integrated into daily life.
Dedicated to supporting local contemporary art, MiART provides an open platform for emerging artists to present their work, exchange ideas, and connect directly with audiences. Through exhibitions, creative activities, and cross-disciplinary collaborations, the space contributes to the growth of local arts and culture.
By bringing together desserts, everyday life, and artistic practice, MiART creates a welcoming space where creativity, learning, and community can meet.