Rhythmic Life Fragments for Near-Future Earthlings" is an ongoing journey to discover the subtle connections between nature, humans, and human relations. It captures the ephemeral and often undocumented rhythms of ecological life or collects moments of life rhythms and symbiosis that continuously exist in nature.

This research focuses on Organicism, More-than-human, Entanglement, Becoming-with, and Noticing for Caring, centering on moments placed closer to the depths of nature, documenting and collecting those times through various media. It includes foraging in the Ferme Lanthorn region of Canada, field recordings, 3D scans, collections in Jeju and Andong, as well as readings and research on the Anthropocene at Crawford Lake. Through the accumulated data and sensory experiences gathered from these explorations, these collections were transformed into beacons, either through data or sensory processes. Additionally, the process explores the complex layers of memory, movement, and environment entangled in a decolonial context, tracing the history of sensory experiences and shared memory amidst a rapidly changing technological landscape.

The question I always find important in life and in my work is, "What kind of interface am I becoming?" I contemplate an ecosystem that senses the attempt of "becoming" as beings coexisting in this world at this moment. Therefore, this research is a continuous journey in search of the rhythms of life that are constantly in flux and the teluric memory. Living in the present, where climate change, war, and accelerating technology are happening, our generation and the spaces we inhabit are multilayered, and we experience the constant emergence of multiple interwoven layers. I realize that I exist between these layers.

The experiences that make up who I am stem from the colonial experiences of my grandparents’ generation, the memories of war, the bodies and interfaces of that era, as well as the computers and languages I interacted with from a young age, and the deep learning and large language models (LLMs) of today. These diverse memories and languages have accumulated over time. My innumerable sensory collections—accumulated photos and video captures—have added to my own sensory experience. These accumulated senses have constantly leapt forward, and the nature I encounter also continues to constitute leaps of perception in different ways through its long history and daily life.

Through research and practice, I continuously trace the symbiotic flow of life within multilayered time and seek to find a common ground connected to the moments of empathy, synthesizing that sensation into my current work. Society in this era longs for communal sense and empathy but is becoming increasingly fragmented and individualistic. In a fragmented world of language and culture, how can communal sense and empathy be made possible through language and systems? Based on questions like, "What interfaces exist in the post-AI era? What would an organic, metabalistic interface look like?" I aim to create and implement a sensory ecosystem that experiments with and practices "ways of breathing the world," creating moments of awareness and empathy, and generating shared experiences of recognition and empathy.

Since 2021, as an attempt to connect the digital and physical worlds, I have been continuously creating self-PCBs as generative images and tactile physical interfaces, and exploring them as living collaborators made of wood. Through this process, I have kept questioning human values and anchor points. Tanhamu (탄하무) is both a work and an attitude I adopt to face the contemporary world; it is a natural synthetic life form, a contemporary sensory reflection, a sensing interface, and an experimental becoming that embodies contemporary technological media. It is an attempt to become an interface in the physical and non-physical spatiotemporal realms of nature, daily life, and my city, in a form that does not center solely on productivity and humanism.

I believe that the body and physicality (Body), along with the embodiment of sensory perception and cognition, constitute the living rhythm of unique life forms. Through the process of doing work and conducting research, while continuing my exploration of fungal-like life and Tanhamu thought, I have come to realize that the gestures, rhythms, and interfaces of desire in life and their communication create a common sensory experience across generations. The long-embodied cultural thinking of humans—rooted in the Eastern notion of time, an ancient cultural legacy—along with questions regarding the symbiotic relationship between nature and technology, has led to an anthropological exploration in 2024 through Telluric Memory: Warm and Sparkling (Global Memory) and Collective Embodied Cognition.

The research and attitude toward life in 2024 aimed to approach the evolving changes in contemporary nature and human-technology relationships in a more specific yet holistic perspective, through closer engagement with nature, cultural history, and the body. In this process, field trips, data observations, texts, and artistic experiments have been carried out in parallel. Through this research, thinking, and field trips, I seek to explore how multiple experiences shape us, investigate what elements are marginalized as data, and form an attitude and philosophy towards facing nature.

This research includes the exploratory process before the completion of the work and re-engagement with the fragments of an experiential ecosystem that constitutes the artwork. The research that underlies the Tanhamu Series (2021-2024) and Telluric Memory (2024) will be woven together under the concept of Planetary Weaving, with the intention of sharing their fragments. The research pieces, from diatoms, hemp, to symbiotic data collection at Ranson, form a symbiotic connection between myself, nature, and the environment, representing the current practice of a heuristic body exploring ecological understanding and ways of being in multilayered time.

Research Framework

Initial Research Planning Phase

Research Principles and Archive of, 

#(Planetary) Weaving
#Organicism
#More-than-human
# Entanglement
#Becoming-with
#Noticing Attentiveness
#Caring

Relationality Through Time / Moving and Changing Entities
Collection of Fragments, Things That Move, Not Fixed Existence / Things That Change, Bringing into the Present

The resulting archive of sound, video, and 3D scans reflects a relational ontology of temporality and connectivity, preserving these fragmentary and transient moments in a self-sustaining system. 

Initial Research Planning Phase #Weaving
The initial research focused on exploring the geological structures, ecosystems, and indigenous stories within Canada. The intention was to bring these fragmented sensory experiences into a contemporary, near-future context, in which unrecorded, transient moments can be woven into new collective memories. The main objectives included:

Planetary Weaving—Telluric Memories: Weaving Temporalities, Memories, and Networks

Weaving is a multi-layered act that goes beyond the simple technique of intertwining physical fibers, forming a deep connection between nature, humans, and technology. In this act, individual elements come together to create a new whole, while revealing the unique context and meaning each piece holds. Weaving makes possible the formation and expansion of memory, intertwining data, matter, and temporal layers to create perceptual experiences.

Weaving and Ecolgy

The study of mushroom and tree ecosystems at Ferme Lanthorn in Canada, the exploration of the Golden Spike at Crawford Lake, traditional hemp weaving research in Andong, algae observation in Jeju's warm currents, foraging and field recording at the Lanthorn farm, and the extension of the concept of weaving from ecological, digital, and philosophical perspectives have all contributed to my ongoing research.

The diatom research and Anthropocene sediments at Crawford Lake reveal an ecological time archive recording the Earth's environmental changes and human impacts. Foraging at Ferme Lanthorn added practical experience to my ongoing research on the symbiotic relationships between trees, land, and mycelium. The mushroom and tree ecosystems at Ferme Lanthorn, the rhythmic hands of grandmothers weaving hemp, and the traditional gestures of weaving willow branch baskets show the continuity of natural rhythms and organic networks. The act of weaving is repetitive yet rhythmic, with human gestures and natural patterns interacting and sharing an organic rhythm. From the microscopic life forms found in the sediments of Crawford Lake, the rhythms of hemp weaving, to the data patterns extending into digital algorithms, all of these elements form an interconnected woven world, rather than separate areas of inquiry.

Exploring how microscopic life forms, like diatoms, mediate ecological change led me to extend this investigation into human history, particularly questions around weaving and symbiosis. By analyzing how human labor and cultural memory are etched into materials like hemp, I began to question the ways in which traditional weaving practices—such as those in Andong, the textiles of the Andes, or silk thread produced by silkworms—use materials suited to their respective climates and how these relationships redefine life.

Looking back on the time spent exploring weaving from a multisensory perspective, I aim to integrate the geological, biological, and cultural layers of memory possessed by nature, humanity, and the algorithms of nature through Planetary Weaving, connecting ecological flows, human memory, and technological algorithms.

Conceptual Framework: Weaving Worlds

Weaving Across Time and Scale, From Nature to Algorithm

Expansion of the definition of weaving: Weaving is an act of intertwining not only physical threads but also data, time, space, and relationships. >> The act of experiencing weaving and memory is a process of Telluric Memory (Earthly Memory) and Collective Embodied Cognition of humanity.

#Time, #Embodiment, and #Sustainability

- What does Planetary Weaving include?
- How do the rhythms of nature and human rhythms meet in weaving?
- How do natural weaving and digital weaving connect matter, time, and relationships?
- How can symbiotic weaving redefine temporality and spatiality?
- The act of weaving and temporality—dimensions, sound, and the body.
- Digital weaving: How do algorithms reinterpret the patterns of nature?

*Planetary Weaving?
: The Symbiotic Rhythm of Weaving in Ecology
The Memory of the Earth, The World of Rhythms

Researching the various layers of weaving and actualizing them in visual, physical, and digital forms. Integrating the natural patterns of weaving, digital algorithms, and symbiotic rhythms, it is also entangled with the rhythms of ecosystems such as climate change and carbon storage, as well as human cultural, political, and geographical perspectives." – Excerpt from work notes, October 2024.

Natural Weaving / Microscopic Weaving / Human Weaving / Digital Weaving

- Natural Weaving: Mycelial networks, ecological networks of diatoms, interactions within forest ecosystems.
- Microscopic Weaving: Symbiosis between diatoms and algae, interactions in the carbon cycle.
- Human Weaving: From traditional fiber-making (hemp, willow basket weaving) to social networks and data structures.
- Digital Weaving: Algorithms, data patterns, and the web of information shaped by AI

Weaving In Nature and Anthropocene
# Weaving in Nature  #Telluric memory  #Telluric Body #Diatoms  #Crawford Lake #Jeju Warm Current

Crawford Lake and Diatoms, Jeju Warm Current: Anthropocenic Weaving

#Telluric Body The Anthropocene Moment Told by the Body of the Earth: The Geometric Body of Diatoms, and the Golden Spike Study at Crawford Lake and the Jeju Warm Current

Crawford Lake and the Jeju Warm Current are two important examples that reveal the geological and ecological characteristics of the Anthropocene. Crawford Lake serves as a 'geological fabric,' recording clear traces of human activities, such as industrialization, radioactive fallout, and fossil fuel use, in temporal layers. In contrast, the Jeju Warm Current acts as a dynamic 'ecological fabric,' reflecting the natural rhythms of the marine ecosystem and changes brought about by climate change in real-time. The undocumented species and algae-covered coastlines observed in the Jeju Warm Current, along with the migration and new adaptations of organisms due to climate change, demonstrate that these ecological shifts are not merely regional issues but global indicators of carbon cycles and ecological crises. Microorganisms such as diatoms absorb carbon and deposit it in the ocean floor, functioning as carbon sinks. This connection between the geological traces of human activity seen in Crawford Lake’s sediment layers and the changes in marine life in the Jeju Warm Current underscores the concept of 'weaving,' where temporal and spatial layers are closely intertwined.

As Metaphors of Temporal, Ecological, and Geological Fabrics

The sediment layers of Crawford Lake and the Jeju Warm Current function as metaphors of 'temporal weaving' and 'ecological weaving,' respectively, within the context of the Anthropocene. Crawford Lake records the traces of human activity geologically through the weaving of Earth's time, while the Jeju Warm Current reveals the dynamic nature of ecosystems amidst climate change, generating continuously shifting patterns. These two sites connect human and nature, time and space, memory and ecology, through the act of weaving, offering both an expansion and convergence of perspectives for exploring the complexity of the Anthropocene. Beyond their local contexts, Crawford Lake and the Jeju Warm Current act as metaphors for the interconnectedness of weaving—the Earth's memory (body) and the body’s weaving—and through weaving, they allow us to sense the potential for a symbiotic network where nature, humans, and technology intertwine in response to climate change and ecological adaptation.

A. Diatoms and the Golden Spike of Crawford Lake
# Weaving in Nature  #Telluric memory  #Diatoms  #Crawford Lake #Telluric Body

Diatoms and the Weaving of the Microworld

Diatom shells are formed as silica precipitates within the cell, with this process showing various changes depending on environmental conditions.

Environment-based Adaptability: The patterns of diatoms change according to surrounding environmental factors (such as nutrients, pH, and temperature), creating unique forms in specific environments.
Evolution and Diverse Patterns:
Diatoms have a long evolutionary history that dates back approximately 280 million years, with diatom species emerging with specific patterns and structures based on the environmental conditions of each era.

Diatoms play a role in the symbiosis between diatoms and algae, as well as in carbon cycling, while researching the weaving of the microscopic world.

Ecological-Digital Continuity

Algorithms and digital weaving represent a new form of weaving that either reproduces or creates natural patterns through algorithms, bridging ecological and digital processes.

Diatoms and Algorithmic Weaving:
- The data from diatoms is an essential resource for predicting carbon storage and climate change.
- The patterns generated from this data transform the rhythms of nature into visual forms.

Generative Design:
- Patterns created through algorithms can harmonize with rhythms found in materials like hemp or mycelium.
- Through these patterns, audiences experience the fusion of nature and technology.

Diatoms and Generative Algorithms

Diatoms, as a type of algae, naturally form intricate geometric patterns and symmetrical shells (frustules). This process is a form of generative design in nature, and can be structured through natural mathematical algorithms, often organized into fractal structures.

By digitally implementing diatoms through algorithms (fractal structures) and experimenting with them, the process of translating organic forms of weaving into digital algorithms is explored. This allows for a deeper understanding of how natural and digital patterns intertwine.

1-1. Research Field and Methodology
In September 2024, the SSD Research Residency team visited the lab of Dr. ___ at the National Canadian Nature Museum of Archive in Ottawa. While reflecting on Dr.'s diatom research, we explored the transition from diatoms to digital weaving and generative algorithms. We observed puff mushrooms and spores under a microscope at approximately 250x magnification, conducting experiments to reconstruct organic algorithms and natural mathematical algorithms, based on research from 2021, 2022, and 2024.

Fractal Structure:
The pattern of diatom shells exhibits complex geometric symmetry and repetition, resembling characteristics of naturally occurring fractal algorithms.

Conducted sound research to synchronize accumulated temporal layers and field-recorded sounds with the present, aiming to make the recorded rhythms resonate with the current moment. The study focused on exploring methods to aurally realize hidden patterns by approaching the frequency domain in sound synthesis, typically perceived along the time axis.

Sound Weaving Research and Methodology After Field Research

#Sound Weaving, Digital Weaving

Phase Distortion Synthesis
Phase Distortion Synthesis changes the phase angle of a sine wave with a second modulator wave to generate various waveforms. Although similar to FM synthesis, the key difference between these two methods is that in Phase Distortion Synthesis, the two waveforms synchronize at each cycle, producing more harmonics. In other words, the sine wave can be distorted until it becomes a sawtooth wave, triangle wave, square wave, etc. This synthesis engine, which goes beyond just waveform generation, typically follows a subtractive synthesizer design.

Jeju Coastline's Ocean Currents and Algae Research Trip (January 2024)

In order to continue research on symbiotic organisms living in environments such as the land, trees, mushrooms, and the sea, I conducted a research trip to Jeju to explore the ecological environment of its primitive forests and the impact of climate change on algae in the Jeju waters.

(In January 2024, I met with marine scientist Kim Seung-hyun and writer () to investigate the ocean currents of Jeju's turbulent climate, researching the Kuroshio Current, which is a major current of the Jeju ocean, and undocumented species.)

Ocean Currents and Carbon Cycle
The Jeju Kuroshio Current regulates the absorption and release of carbon in the ocean, with micro-organisms such as diatoms playing a significant role in this process. In particular, the interaction between algae and diatoms can be seen as a 'natural weaving' of the marine ecosystem. Diatoms absorb atmospheric carbon through photosynthesis, and upon dying, they settle on the ocean floor, acting as a major carbon storage reservoir in the Earth's carbon cycle.

Climate Change and the Migration of Marine Species
During the field trip, newly recorded species seem to have moved to the Jeju waters due to changes in the ocean current and rising sea temperatures. By directly collecting and observing these species, I was able to sense the "temporal weaving" of the marine ecosystem and the dynamic nature of climate change and its related issues firsthand.

Kuroshio Current
The Kuroshio Current, also known as the "Black Current," is a strong Western Boundary Current that plays a crucial role in the marine ecosystem and climate of the Northwestern Pacific. Originating off the coast of Japan, it flows through the East China Sea, past Taiwan and northern Philippines, and reaches Jeju Island. The name "Kuroshio" comes from the Japanese words for "black current," which refers to the deep, clear color of the water.

##Field Recording and Foraging at the Primitive Forest and Wetlands of Ferme Lanthorn, The Symbiotic Rhythm of Weaving in Nature
Mushroom-Tree Symbiosis — Trees, Mushrooms, and the Earth

To observe and experience the weaving of nature and its relational networks more closely, I engaged in foraging for mushrooms (mycelium-mushrooms-trees-soil) coexisting with the ecosystem of trees and the soil in the primitive forest. In the Jeju primitive forest of Gotjawal, the symbiotic life between mushrooms, trees, and the soil is not merely a component of Earth's ecosystem, but rather a network of life, intricately intertwined and dependent on each other, creating rhythms and languages.

Mushroom Foraging in the Primitive Forest of Ferme Lanthorn, Canada (September 2024)

"Willows and Mushrooms belong to thunders. I am closely encountering the times of the forest told by willows after the rain and mushrooms..." - Part of a note (September 2024)

Mycelium is connected to tree roots, exchanging nutrients and water, which can be considered a representative example of weaving in nature. Through the worldview of tanhamu, the interconnectedness and relationality of these networks and their shared existence are unfolded. I wanted to directly experience which mushrooms grow with the trees and soil, and explore the earthy scent of the land, the trees, and the mushrooms that emerge after the rain.

Ferme Lanthorn is located near Ontario, Canada, and is classified as a temperate forest zone. The buildings where I stayed during the residency were surrounded by various environments such as woods, wetlands, and meadows, allowing me to observe the relationships between different soils, trees, and plants.

Some of the observed mushrooms: Coral fungi, Amanita muscaria, Birch Polypore.

Main trees: Birch, Pine, Willow

Mushrooms that symbiotically grow with Oak (Quercus spp.):
- Chanterelle (Cantharellus cibarius)
Scientific name: Cantharellus cibarius
Typically forms mycorrhizal relationships with oak roots, exchanging nutrients. It has a bright yellow, trumpet-shaped appearance and a subtle fruity scent. It provides minerals to the tree and receives sugars in return.
- Bolete (Boletus edulis)
Scientific name: Boletus edulis
Features a thick brown cap and sponge-like pores. It forms mycorrhizal relationships with oak roots. It helps strengthen the tree's resistance to diseases and aids in moisture retention in the soil.

Mushrooms that symbiotically grow with Maple (Acer spp.):
- Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)
Scientific name: Pleurotus ostreatus
Commonly found on decaying maple trees. It ranges in color from gray to brown and has a fan-shaped appearance. It promotes the decay of maple trees, enriching the soil with organic matter.

Mushrooms that symbiotically grow with Birch (Betula spp.):
- Polypore (Fomitopsis betulina)
Scientific name: Fomitopsis betulina
Parasitizes birch trees, characterized by a crescent shape that changes from white to light brown. It is also used for medicinal purposes. It decomposes the dead tissues of the tree, increasing biodiversity on the forest floor.

Mushrooms that symbiotically grow with Pine (Pinus spp.):
- Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)
Scientific name: Amanita muscaria
A toxic mushroom characterized by its red cap and white spots. It forms a mycorrhizal relationship with pine trees, exchanging nutrients with the tree roots. The toxic chemicals it produces have an inhibitory effect on surrounding plants.

The mycelium maintains the symbiotic ecosystem between mushrooms and trees, and their interactions enhance the fertility of the soil. Mycorrhizal networks interact with tree roots, forming a complex system that exchanges nutrients and water. This network is a powerful metabolic system, a prime example of nature's symbiotic weaving.

1-1.
Research Field and Methodology

In September 2024, field research was conducted at Ferme Lanthorn, Wakefield, and the surrounding wetlands. Various mushrooms, including Coral Fungi and Dyer’s Polypore, were collected. These mushrooms form direct symbiotic relationships with trees such as willows, spruces, and pines, thriving in these ecosystems.

Visual and Auditory Records

Photographs captured the symbiotic relationship between mushrooms and trees, particularly focusing on the ecology of mushrooms thriving in the wetlands and willow trees within the primeval forest. Field recordings were made to document the ecological environment of these mushrooms.

Digital Weaving, Transition to Algorithms

Puff mushrooms and spores were observed under a microscope at approximately 250x magnification, and experiments were conducted to reconstruct organic algorithms and mathematical algorithms of nature, based on research from 2021, 2022, and 2024.

1-2.

Symbiotic Network

Mushrooms exchange substances and nutrients with trees through the mycorrhizal network, reinforcing each other’s existence in nature. This interaction led me to reflect on Philippe Descola's philosophy of analogism, where each organism in the ecosystem is independent yet simultaneously expands its meaning through the existence of others. This relational entanglement forms an ecological narrative. Since 2021, I have been working on the research of their network systems and the worldview of symbionts, Tanhamu, creating continuous works around these themes. My projects aim to embody this symbiotic network.

Nonlinear Temporality

Mushrooms always possess a nonlinear temporality. They appear seasonally, decay quickly, but leave spores behind, enriching the soil through organic decomposition for decades. This process and cyclical rhythm view the earth as an archive of time, functioning in parallel with human cultural and digital archives.

Human Weaving: In Human Ecology

1.4 / Willow Basket Making

1.5 / Andong Traditional Hemp Weaving

2. Algonquin Tribe's Willow Basket and Andong Hemp Weaving

Content:
Traditional hemp weaving is an example of organic weaving formed through repetitive gestures and the passage of time.

- Hemp-making Process and Rhythm of Labor:
The repetition of hemp weaving demonstrates the bodily memory of humans engaging with nature.

- Physical Weaving Process and Meaning through Natural Materials:

- Multilayered Interpretations of Weaving

Analogism: The Philosophical Weaving of Hemp and Nature

The Andong hemp weaving is a process of transforming hemp fibers obtained from nature into a new form through the rhythm of human hands and the loom.

Rhythm of Hemp Weaving:
- The repetitive movements of the loom harmonize with the cyclical rhythms of nature.
- The worker breathes life into the fibers through their own physical rhythm and the sensation of their hands.

Similarity between Mycelium and Hemp:
- Hemp fibers are restructured through human rhythm, using materials from nature, while mycelium creates its own organic rhythm within nature.
- Through these processes, hemp and mycelium share a symbiotic rhythm in different contexts.

Field Recording, Sensory Listening, Bringing it Back to the Present

Recording site-specificity, temporality, and spatial patterns, storing the sensory experience of listening, and the process of bringing them back. The work explores methods of mixing real data and processing techniques, connecting and weaving them together.

Tanhamu Tronica