Activation:
Micro-Language Models of Art

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.