Biography
SYNPHYSICA
SYNPHYSICA was founded in 2018 by artists Chiaochi Chou and Youyang Hu. The name signifies a millennium-born entity, without a fixed form, existing as an elusive data presence. The collective is renowned for its signature use of hybrid media and large-scale installations.
Chiaochi Chou and Youyang Hu leverage their diverse backgrounds to explore the relationship between humans and nature through the interactions among humans and non-humans driven by biosignals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they reassessed the impact of technology on ecological evolution in their isolated lives, subsequently focusing their creative direction on exploring the essence of objects and life, extending beyond a human-centric perspective. As a result, their creative domain shifted from indoor exhibition spaces to natural environments, employing sensors and algorithms to detect, analyze, and transform scenarios not limited to human experience but constructed by both living and non-living entities. This approach has solidified the collective’s methodology of integrating research and creation, showcasing the ontological world structured by the two artists.
Among the main members of the collective, Chiaochi Chou is an emerging Taiwan artist, renowned for her installation art that incorporates living organisms and physical materials. She also oversees the organization of the collective's exhibitions. Chou is currently pursuing a PhD at Tsinghua University under the guidance of Professor Chia-Wei Li. As the 2024 recipient of the Asian Cultural Council fellowship, she is currently residing in NYC. She was also a member of the IDSA x Ars Electronica Founding Lab. Youyang Hu is an interdisciplinary artist and researcher whose expertise in firmware integration leads the collective’s development capabilities. His work spans bioinformatics, AI algorithms, human-computer interaction, and mixed reality research, with numerous publications in top conferences and journals in the field of computer science. He is currently a PhD student at Professor Yasuaki Kakehi Lab at the University of Tokyo.
Exhibition
Solo / Permanent Exhibitions
Art Gallery Pace University, New York - Being Transducer .Oct 2024
Fleur de Chine, Nantou - Cradle .Aug 2023
Project Fulfill Art Space, Taipei - Lighthesis .Oct 2022
Museum of Natural Science, Taichung - 草木一見 .Mar 2021
Songshan Cultural Park, Taipei - 信釋 .Oct 2020
Project Fulfill Art Space, Taipei - 信釋 .Sep 2020
Group Exhibitions / Performance
AI+X Summit, ETH Zurich -Eye of Flora .Oct 2024
CHI 2024 Conference, Hawaii -Eye of Flora .May 2024
Climate Imaginarium, New York -Eye of Flora .May 2024
Ars Electronica Center, Linz -Streams in the Veins .Jan 2024
Ars Electronica Festival, Linz -Synplant .Sep 2023
Project Fullfill Art Space, Taipei -The Rat .Jan 2023
Xlab Showcase 2023, Tokyo -Synplant .Mar 2023
ZOU-NO-HANA Futurescape, Tokyo -Synplant .Dec 2022
Art TAIPEI 2022, Taipei -LightFall & Pneuma .Oct 2022
Stone Sculpture Museum, Hualien -Cradle .Oct 2022
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung -Pneuma .Oct 2021
Museum of Drinking Water, Taipei -Movement .Oct 2021
Ars Electronica Festival, Linz -Cradle .Sep 2021
Remedium-Poznan Art Week, Poland -Syn-thesasia .Oct 2020
HOW Art Museum, Shanghai -Cybernation .Feb 2020
Ars Electronica Festival, Linz -Cybernation .Sep 2019
YouFab Global Creative Award, Japan -Cybernation .Jan 2019
Unstable Media Art Festival, Taipei -Meditation .Jan 2019
Taipei Digital Arts Festival, Taipei -Syn-thesasia .Nov 2018
MANA LIFE GEEK, Shanghai -Syn-thesasia .Oct 2018
Maker Faire, Taipei -Response Traces .Jul 2017
Residency/
Visiting
Scholar
Asia Culture Center Creator Residency, Koren.2024
Present Asia Cultural Council New York Fellowship, New York.2024
UBC Uriarte Lab, New York.2024
Ars Electronica Center FOUNDING LAB, Linz.2023-2024
Sapporo Tenjjinyama Art Studio,Hokkaido
.2022-2023
Award
Bio Art & Design Award (BAD)
-Match Event .Apr 2023
Bio Art & Design Award (BAD)
-Match Event .Apr 2022
ACM Multimedia (ACMMM)
-Best Student Paper Award .Sep 2021
Taipei Arts Award
-Finalist .Dec 2020
YouFab Global Creative Awards
-Finalist .Dec 2018
K.T. Technology and Humanities Award
-Silver Awards .Nov 2018
MANA LIFE GEEK
-Data visualization Awards .Nov 2018
K.T. Technology and Humanities Award
-Silver Awards .May 2017
Publication
Eye of Flora: Encountering Nature through the Mixed Reality Lens of Plant-Environment Interactions
-SIGGRAPH Art Paper .Dec 2024
Immersive Flora: Re-Engaging with the Forest through the Visualisation of Plant-Environment Interactions in Virtual Reality
-CHI Interactivity .May 2024
Synplant: Cymatics Visualization of Plant-Environment Interaction Based on Plants Biosignals
-SIGGRAPH Art Paper .Aug 2023
Lucid Dream: Sensing and Artistic Representation of Plant-Nature Interaction Based on Plants Biosignals
-Inter-Society for the Electronic Arts (ISEA) Short Paper .May 2023
aBio: Active Bi-Olfactory Display Using Subwoofers for Virtual Reality
-ACM Multimedia (ACMMM) Oral Paper .Oct 2021
Apercevoir: Bio Internet of Things Interactive System
-ACM Multimedia (ACMMM) Interactive Arts .Oct 2021
The Transition and Practice of Subjectivity: Interactive Art Driven by Biosignals
-Leonardo / ISAST .Sep 2021
Response Traces