This work is a cooperation with the long-time collaborator, scriptwriter Chen Wan-Yin.

A group of children twist their bodies and crawl slowly, encircling another child. They clutch pebbles and stones, tossing them as if to bury him. In the process, the buried child recounts a story about the evolution of Homo erectus.

“Catastrophism” is a term used in evolutionary biology to describe pivotal moments when species evolution is reshaped by disaster. In the context of recent ecological shifts and a fractured global order, catastrophism can no longer be separated from technological systems. This work was inspired by a long-term collaboration with a 3D scanning team, whose tasks include scanning the bodies of victims at disaster sites and digitally reconstructing their identities. Through this collaboration, the artist seeks to explore the origins and formation of human rationality within the landscape of contemporary catastrophe.

The story of Homo erectus evolution in the video is adapted from Thomas Moynihan’s book Spinal Catastrophism: A Secret History.

Supported by Hong Foundation
(Photo by Sean Wang, courtesy of Hong Foundation)