Exhibition

Exhibition Overview

Exhibition Title:Synthetic Landscapes

Curated by the CAFA-Beijing iGEM team, this exhibition was held in a hybrid space that combines an art venue with a café. With the theme “Synthetic Biology and Perception”, the exhibition explores the relationships between body, data, and image through artistic installations and cross-media works.

The centerpiece of the show is the team’s interactive installation Perception Circuit, accompanied by works from several collaborating groups, creating a multi-dimensional arena of dialogue. Here, visitors are not just observers but active participants—their bodily data, perceptions, and feedback collectively form part of the exhibition itself.

1.Exhibition Introduction

Synthetic Landscapes is not a mere display of works, but an artistic experiment centered on synthetic biology. We sought to bring the concept of “synthesis” from the scientific laboratory into the exhibition space, where it collides with the visual language and sensory experiences of art.

Here, synthetic biology is not only a technology but also a way of seeing and interpreting the world. Through interactive installations and artworks, audiences directly encounter the translation of bodily data, the re-presentation of living matter, and the potential implications of science within social life.

The exhibition aims to break disciplinary boundaries: science is no longer confined to professional researchers but, through the intervention of art, becomes a public experience—something perceivable, thinkable, and discussable. As the notion of “landscapes” suggests, what is presented here is not only a visual scene but also a future environment jointly shaped by science and art.

2.Our Installation (Perception Circuit)

This installation treats the skin as a mediating interface: both the boundary of the body and the entry point of information into technological systems. Subtle variations in brightness, hydration, and elasticity are translated into data, which then return to the space as light and shadow. This back-and-forth process folds bodily experience into image experience.

Here, the image is no longer a representation of the body but a generative act. The viewer’s physiological state is transcribed into visible forms within the space, making the skin a “writable surface.” Light and shadow touch not only the fabric but also the very boundary of perception.

This mechanism reveals the interdependence of perception and technology: the texture of skin requires technological externalization to become visible, while the generation of images must return to the body to be fully experienced. Thus, body, data, and image form a cyclical network of relations.

The work does not focus on demonstrating technology itself but on the perceptual questions it provokes: When skin is both a physiological and a media interface, how might we reimagine the relationship between “seeing” and “touch”? When the body becomes datafied, does it also generate a new form of image experience?

Interaction Logic:

1. The detection system collects skin data in real time.
2. Data are visualized on screens and projections.
3. Viewers may lie beneath a fabric surface, feeling the direct effects of light and shadow on their bodies.
4. The installation constructs three fluid materials, symbolizing internal bodily circulation and metabolism.

In doing so, the installation not only externalizes physiological data but also poses a critical question: When the body becomes a writable medium, how should we rethink the interplay of “vision” and “touch”?

3.Collaborating Works

To expand the diversity of the exhibition, we invited multiple artists to participate. Their works, ranging from video and installation to cross-media design, explore the relationships between synthetic biology and society, the body, and future imaginaries.

The exhibition space adopts an open layout, allowing visitors to freely move among works, creating an ecosystem-like experience of viewing.

4.Exhibition Documentation

To help the public engage more deeply, we prepared various forms of documentation:

• Exhibition handbook and curatorial texts;
• Posters and flyers;
• On-site video materials (short clips and GIFs).

These materials not only present the curatorial logic but also allow audiences to continue reflecting on and sharing the content beyond the exhibition.

5. Audience Engagement & Feedback

In the exhibition, visitors became an integral part of the experience by interacting with the installation. Their bodily data directly contributed to image generation, while the tactile sensations of light and shadow inspired reflection on the relationship between body and technology.

We also gathered a range of feedback:

• Visitor comment books and personal reflections;
• Survey data;
• Immediate responses from audience interactions and conversations.

These responses highlight the exhibition’s educational value and its broader social impact.