Event Blog 2: Antarctic Sovreignity, Jane Mi 5/27

At Professor Vesna's suggestion, I attended the art exhibit by Jane Chang Mi in the MFA exhibit here on UCLA's campus on Wednesday, May 27th. The exhibit is located in the Wight Gallery, which is in the first floor of Broad Art Center. Her artwork primarily focuses on Antartica, especially the means by which it has become populated and, effectively, conquered.

Descriptions of each piece of art from the artist herself

The exhibit contained a number of different pieces, each made differently. There was one large printed image, five smaller printed images, a projection on a wall, a projection on a circular disk, and translated copy of the Antarctic Treaty.

Te Tai-uka-a-pia, a large inkjet print

A closer view of Te Tai-uka-a-pia

 My second favorite part of the exhibit was the manuscript below: a translated copy of the Antarctic treaty. The document is written in Hawaiian, English, Russian, French, and Spanish. It simultaneously allows for inclusion by multiple parties, while speaking about sovereignty in the region. It outlines various articles that state how the land in Antarctica is to be used. Importantly, the land can only be used for peaceful actions, but relates to Hawaii's long and troubled history with the United States. Hawaii was an independent state, but was essentially taken over by the US. The militarized occupation was entirely illegal and has been the source of continued discord between native Hawaiians and the US. Nowadays, Hawaii is used for scientific research. Such scientific occupation is similar to what we see in Antarctica, where the environment is disregarded and often destroyed in the name of science.

Ka Palapala 'Aelike no 'Ane'alika, a Hawaiian translation of the Antarctic Treaty

Mauna O Wakea, 5 inkjet prints

A closer view of three of the five Mauna O Wakea prints

 The entire exhibit was located in a recessed room. The floor of the room was made of black rocks, likely meant to represent Hawaiian igneous basalt. I had to walk over the rocks and hear them crunch under my shoes in order to see the artwork.

A bird's eye view of the Hawaiian basalt rocks on the floor of the exhibit

The most scientific aspect and my favorite part of the exhibit is shown below: Black Ice, a generative animation projected onto a disk on the floor. The animation illustrates the icebergs of Antarctica as seen from the South Pole. Data is collected from the Brigham Young University Iceberg Tracking Database, allowing for gorgeous glowing outlines of ice movement. I attempted to capture the glowing lines, but the light was not favorable. If you look closely, they are more visible in the second picture. I really like this exhibit because it makes scientific data incredibly beautiful. The merger between the science and art is what this class is all about, and I would recommend that everyone go see this in person!

Black Ice, a generative animation

A Bird's Eye view of Black Ice. It is possible to see the glowing lines that show ice movement.

What should have been Deception Island. The photo was taken before the video was loaded. This is just Google's homepage.

 Although it was very difficult to photograph, the final piece of art was a projected single channel video, showing landscapes of Antarctica. The above picture was actually taken before Jane Mi set up the video, thus the Google homepage. Below is a faint image of an Antarctic landscape. You can barely make out the penguin in the center, but it was much more visible in person. This is meant to illustrate man's attempt to be first in discovery.

Deception Island, a constantly running projected single channel video

 Unfortunately, I was only able to speak with Jane Mi briefly, as she had to leave shortly after I arrived. As such, I took a selfie in front of the room. Note how the black rocks extend across the entirety of the room!

Selfie with the art