Coexist? (Juried)

Human intervention with technology, science, and the need to dominate sometimes lead to unpredictable and seemingly negative results. Unlike most species, humans adapt not simply for survival, but also for social acceptance, wealth, and prosperity. We insist that other species adapt to our ever-changing model of the world or get out of the way. 

But what would happen if humans were forced to exist in other species’ worlds? 

This project is a behavior experiment on how humans react to undesirable species' intrusion in our habitat. It focuses on the cockroach. Cockroaches are real survivors. They have been around for approximately 300 million years. Over 5,000 species have been identified. Cockroaches are very adaptive.

The experiment provides an interactive space with a pile of gloves at the entrance.  Attendees are asked to wear a pair of the gloves. Then they see one cockroach - black, crawling, enticing participants to smash it. After it is hit, instead of dying, it explodes to become five cockroaches, and the original cockroach turns red. Hitting it again makes it grow to a giant cockroach. Wings grow out of its shell. The nonlinear narrative unfolds along a curve from trigger to climax, affected by interaction. 

Meng Li 
Allistar Peters 
Rendall Koski