Mikael Hwang

Following the debut of Signal, Resonance continues to examine evolving interactions with non-human entities in two distinct media: biology and space. In this project, bacteria serve as collaborators within the biological medium, while generative AI acts as the collaborator in the exploration of space. Rather than viewing these entities as mere tools, Resonance positions them as co-creators, exploring the potential for collaborative intelligence between humans and non-humans as a path toward understanding respective roles, symbioses, and interconnected realities.

The first component of the artwork investigates multi-agency collaboration with bacteria, manifested as the world’s first 'living' drum—an incubator cultivating a single bacterial species in liquid. Within the drum, the bacteria 'perform' a rhythmic musical piece by digesting a biodegradable plastic net. As the net degrades, buoyant balls previously trapped beneath rise and strike the drum’s glass surface, generating sound. While the enclosure is designed and optimized for the bacteria, their independent performance challenges anthropocentric views of music and highlights plastic biodegradation as ‘evolved intelligence’ to collaboratively address an anthropogenic ecological crisis.

The second component explores multi-agency collaboration with generative AI, manifested as a pavilion that physically enshrines the drum while also serving as a conceptual medium speculating on the development of architectural space from volumes and lines to points. The collaborative design of a new scaffolding joint system for the pavilion provides granular control, enabling the reimagining of space design with unprecedented architectural expression. By leveraging generative AI’s capacity for rapid evolution, the joint system’s development and the pavilion’s construction become a case study in multi-agency collaboration, unlocking new possibilities in spatial design.

Resonance does not simply invite collaboration with non-human agents; it insists on it. By foregrounding both bacteria and generative AI as essential contributors, the project unsettles traditional authorship and expands the vocabulary of creative practice.