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Description
“Self-miracle” (2024) by Cheng Ran and Sun Bohan, a captivating renewal of his 9-hour film “In Course of the Miraculous” (2015). In collaboration with Genify and Sun Bohan, this project delves into adventure, time, and memory through generative technology.
Curated by K11 Art Foundation.
Cheng Ran’s latest digital creation, Self-miracle (2024), is a generative artwork inspired by his epic 9-hour film In Course of the Miraculous (2015). The film was co-produced by the K11 Art Foundation (Production) and Cheng Ran (Chief-Producer), and it was premiered at the Istanbul Biennale in 2015 and received much critical acclaim. Cheng presents a 9-hour film based on three recorded events that end mysteriously as the film develops. For this special exhibition, Cheng has completely renewed his artwork by utilizing experimental film imagery as its visual foundation. Through the application of algorithms and generative coding techniques, the time element in the film is deconstructed and re-generated, reverting the image back to its simplest forms, patterns and colour fields. This breaks the conventional boundaries of time, allowing each snapshot to be rearranged and regenerated to construct an entirely new temporal landscape.
Sun Bohan’s strong background in computer science brings technical inspiration to this new series, further deepening the exploration of time and space. Through highly integrated recursive algorithms and the p5.js framework, the work presents new dynamics and structures. In this version, the generative algorithm uses adaptive recursion depth to divide randomly generated rectangles into dynamic grids, symbolizing the yin and yang lines from the I Ching, corresponding to the countless transformations within the 64 hexagrams. Yin and yang represent both opposition and harmony, much like the rectangular grids in the artwork, which are divided and reconstructed at different recursion depths, capturing the sense of order inherent in Eastern art. The 64 hexagrams correspond to 64 different spatial perspectives, with each hexagram carrying a unique understanding of time and space.
Through blur filters and division algorithms, the work continuously reconstructs visual elements, symbolizing the infinite fractals and chaotic reorganization of time. The recursion depth not only affects the geometric division but also introduces random aesthetic effects, achieving a high level of integration between technology and art. This also reflects Eastern philosophical concepts of “impermanence” and “eternity,” using digital algorithms to explore the multidimensionality and cyclicality of time.
About Cheng Ran:
Cheng Ran (b. 1981, China) finished his residency programme at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Netherlands, in 2014. In 2017, he founded the artist institution MARTIN GOYA BUSINESS. Cheng focuses on new media, and his artworks mainly consist of videos and films. At the beginning of his career, his films were not precise or cinematic. Instead,