So Wing Po

So Wing Po’s unique sensitivity, observation and imagination towards the fabric of nature is manifested in her newest kinetic work Organ #4 (2022). A sculptural study physically replicating a vital biological organ is forged from medicinal herbal powders sourced from nature. Reflecting on the correlations between interior and exterior macro and microorganic substances, So fabricates ecosystems that defy the natural orders of the universe.

Way before seeing, the foetus can hear. Hearing is an intricate operation – sound waves travel to the inner ear, where watery fluid in the cochlea vibrates microscopic hair cells that translate the physical motion into tinkling electrical signals relayed by neurons to the brain. So Wing Po envisions Cicada Sound Collector (2020) to be a planetarium that imitates the hearing inside of us. Grinding up Chinese herbs that she grew up with in her family’s medicinal practice, the artist creates electrolytic soil for the transmission of electrical signals. On one end is a sound receiver, generating signals that pass through the colorful orbs, and on the other end, emissions of flashing lights in the belly of cicadas. Everything is illuminated in Seeds of Damocles (2012), where hundreds of dried seeds of Damocles tree cover the orb of a furniture lamp. The warm glow is the incubator of thousands of seeds and millions of stars, each containing a universe of its own. If you hold it close to your ear, you can hear infant stars beating in their hearts.

Algae have been notoriously hard to classify in the Apollonianism of scientific taxonomy. Photosynthetic, they are neither plants, animals or fungi. So Wing Po creates mixed media installations that articulate the cellular view of underwater algae, visualizing the ancient genetics that influences observable sexual characteristics.

Some float freely, some sink. Some like it hot, some like it cold, and some like it dry. Some are single- celled, while some colonize. Some have sex, while some divide or fragment to grow new individuals. Some even survive from primitive ages and live amongst us. The profound diversity in algae is full of oddities and curiosity. To crack the genetic code where they stock up enormous data is but a step in apprehending the origin of the rainbow of diversity. Have a hard time to define them! They are the snapshots of multicellular evolution that culminates in our own.