The title of the project ‘蜜’ denotes not only ‘honey’, this Chinese pictograph also morphologically suggests and outlines its producer ‘bee’ (虫, 蜂) and the habitat ‘hive’ (宀). ‘X Virtual Gathering: Honey’ focuses on the expanded network of bees - the ecological biogeography, human civilisation, and capitalisation. In recent years, resource depletion and ecological crisis have given rise to biodiversity loss which also dramatically changed the living conditions of many species, and humans are never excused from these systems. We learnt from Darwinism that there is no mystery about humanity; humans are just a part of nature. The space occupied by 'Honey' is not merely a space for nature and ecology, but also a space taken up by totem, and a space where human activity impacts on the wildlife. 'X Virtual Gathering: Honey' is an interdisciplinary research project that commissions visual artists and music producers to explore organisms, ecosystems, food supply chains, cultural heritage, organisation and sharing. All the works in the exhibition are new commissions, including a video game, eight music tracks, and an art installation. The game 'Honey' will be available for download through X Museum’s online platform. At the end of 2024, the project will also release an eponymous vinyl record which will be distributed globally.
Humans brought forth a nexus of civilisation, and slowly deepened the crease between civilisation and nature through technological revolutions. From reverence to exploitation, our shifted mind towards natural resources have disenchanted nature's spirituality, inorganics have replaced organics, claiming the centre of the capital world. The dynamic balance among organic substances has been disrupted against the backdrop of capitalism and the Anthropocene. The network of ‘Honey’ symbolises fluid environment, connecting humanity with 'Otherness', capital with exploitation - challenging a series of ecological predicaments coming towards us - artificial sugars, pesticides, intensive agriculture, and colony collapse disorder. Through various styles ranging from experimental electronic music, dance music, to free jazz, the exhibition offers an interdependent soundscape. Among which, sampled music from China's ethnic minority regions traces an alternative perspective on the paradoxes of memories and loops back to the emotions of those shared communities. Techniques such as granular synthesis are used to further transcribe the bee colonies and terrestrial ecosystems within the technological environment. As an abstract medium, music alters and challenges the participants' senses, urging us to rethink ecological justice and species justice.
‘Honey’ also symbolically alludes to the sacred - it flows from the material world to the immaterial one with golden gleam - washes over human minds, and extends to eternity. Honey is one of the oldest substances being managed and distributed by humans since the Stone Age, it is a natural sweetener, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial agent, reflecting prosperity and longevity, embodying humanity's quest to understand the cosmos and technology. In this exhibition, music works from the artists each represent a specific event throughout levels in the game-build, as the space shifts, these pieces are triggered by visitors during the real time game play. Visitors are invited to participate through the perspectives of bees, engaged in a dynamic, unstable environment that enhances and augments the sensory experience. ‘Honey’ unfolds as a fluid, generative virtual space where ‘you’ changes the honey, and the honey changes ‘you’.
Bee colonies are organised by an effective social structure that reflects collective decision making. Their ways of collaboration closely resemble the neuron interactions of the human brain. Studying bees is to study ourselves. These social insects collectively decode complex tasks and are guided by instinct and order, while humans attempt to pursue independence and freedom. In response, the game ‘Honey’ spreads its multiple story lines around this organisational aspect, challenging the stereotypical concepts of order and autonomy, civilisation and nature, exploring the trans-dimensional space that ‘honey’ occupies in visual culture through the construction of a series of totemic symbols, and a mix of organic and inorganic landscapes. From discursive sound environments to virtual worldbuilding, from text, images, and installations to gamified spaces, ‘X Virtual Gathering: Honey’ systematically unpacks the intricate network of civilisation embodied by these insects. Through the lens of honey, the project highlights a multi-species ethnographic approach in a dialectical exploration of the primordial, non-Western-centric ecological futures lurking beneath the ‘human’ crisis.
