Mr. Universe

When we turn on the television, images related to the universe and aliens constantly invade the screen. Whether in film, theater, news broadcasts or related speculations, they are common themes found in the media. 
In the series Mr. Universe, Lin attempted to depict the reality through the production of the science-fiction film here. In trying to simulate and replicate products originated from foreign technology and cultural contexts, the result images are prone to revealing “flaws” and “impurities”. A dialectical relationship exists between the aliens and mass media (television) in this work, propagating the fact that the alien images derive from the media, while simultaneously staying critical of its very source.

 

 

 

 

宇宙人

打開電視機,關於宇宙與外星人的影像層出不窮,不論是電影、戲劇,或者相關報導、揣測……都時常是媒體裡常見的題材。 在〈宇宙人〉系列作品中,透過生產科幻影像反映一些此地的現實:在欲模擬、複製出那些並非源自本身科技、文化脈絡的產物時,總容易出現一些「破綻」與「雜質」,同時作品裡的外星人與大眾媒體(電視機)存在著辯證關係,如同訴說著外星人影像來自於媒體的事實,卻又同時批判媒體:

 

 

 

Mr. Universe I

2010

Single-Channel Video

02′ 20

 

 

宇宙人I

2010

單頻道錄像

02分20秒

 

 

宇宙人I(Mr. Universe I) from Lin, Yen-Ju on Vimeo.

 

  

In Mr. Universe I, the aliens seem transfixed as they stare at the television screen in an outlandish simulation of the sci-fi background, repeatedly and unconsciously receiving the images fed by the media.

 

 

在〈宇宙人I〉中,外星人呆若木雞地在一個詭異的擬仿科幻美學空間裡看電視,一再重複,且無意識地,接受媒體影像。

 

 

 

 

Mr. Universe II

2011

Single-Channel Video

02′ 40″

 

 

宇宙人II

2011

單頻道錄像

02分40秒

 

 

宇宙人 II(Mr. Universe II) from Lin, Yen-Ju on Vimeo.

 

 

In Mr. Universe II, the aliens begin to interact with the images on the television. Two aliens—the alien inside the television and the alien watching the television—appear in the film. The boundaries between image and reality are thus ambiguous and difficult to distinguish.

 

 

〈宇宙人II〉中,外星人與電視機裡的影像「互動」:影片中有兩個外星人——電視影像中與電視機外的外星人。影像與現實的界限十分模糊,使人難以分辨。

 

 

 

 

Mr. Universe III — Star Trak

2012

site-specific multimedia installation

 

 

宇宙人III——星艦畸航

2012

複合媒體裝置

依場地空間而定

 

 

 

In Mr. Universe III — Star Trak, the television is converted into a spaceship,  reflecting how the media has become the origin and shaping factor of the sci-fi  imageries found in daily life.

 

 

〈宇宙人III——星鑑畸航〉電視機成為一太空星艦。猶如反映媒體成為日常中科幻意象的塑造來源。