Li-Jung Hsiao

"Vivid Delight"

Section MS8, Gabriella Hirst

Keywords: photography, environment

Vivid Delight aims to evoke social reflection and discussion on issues of ecology and anthropocentrism through gardens from different species' perspectives. According to a study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the earth has experienced five mass extinctions in the past 4.5 billion years, each time losing at least 70% of species, the sixth mass extinction is now happening, and human beings must take full responsibility. In fact, the mass extinction of species will also bring great harm to human survival, the earth will lose its existing vast ecosystem, including fresh water, insect pollination, and pest control capabilities. In two-way interdependence, human beings are still developing with themselves as the center, the voice of creatures needs to be paid attention to.

The idea of anthropocentrism first originated from a verse in the Old Testament, it not only affected the perception of non-human species in the West later on but was also identified as the root cause of conflicts with the natural environment. With the evolution of human culture, the ideas of non-anthropocentrism and biocentrism have also gradually developed, but can they really eliminate the thinking mode of human beings based on self-worth?

Restricted to the garden itself or the definition of the garden, from the breeding of flower and grass species, the pruning of the tree shape, the use of boundary of the garden, etc., and then the public or private division, it has been repeatedly proved that human beings have always been self-centered thinking. Yet no one explores what other users of the garden are, and who has the right to use them? Wild Cube, Luis Wenburger’s work in 2015 reveals the power of natural ecology, without human caring and pruning, wild grass can still grow into a garden, which indirectly indicates the unimportance of human beings in the development of gardens. In addition, design for non-humans is an issue worth thinking about and evoking, how to start the design process with the orientation of serving creatures. Therefore, through reverse execution, this project starts from the creatures' perspective in the frame of an existing garden, interprets the difference of perspective through media creation, and by using the methods of symbolisation and contrast to evoke public discussion of the garden and reflections on the extent of human involvement.

In the media studies project, Before Garden, the perspectives, traits, and biological habits of creatures will be critically and experimentally examined, revealing the perspectives of other/major users of the Kensington garden, and contrasting the gardens from the human perspective. And attempts to reveal the usage boundaries of humans and creatures in the garden and produce unexpected images. At the same time, it records the photographer's creative process from the perspective of a third party, and corresponds to the output of two sets of photos, opening up the relationship between humans, creatures and space. Dialogue, and guide human beings to think about the rights of gardens, understand the coexistence relationship between human beings and living things, and reflect on how the existing system shapes the so-called gardens.