The Embassy of Aliens_A diplomacy initiative to develop the reimagining of aliens

The Embassy of Aliens 外星人大使館

The Embassy of Aliens_A diplomacy initiative to develop the reimagining of aliens

The Embassy of Aliens seeks to negotiate bilateral diplomacy and shifting borders between ideological regions of the extra- and intra-terrestrial worlds. For centuries, humans have been imagining what aliens might be like, however without scientific findings, what contemporary pop culture represents as extra-terrestrial aliens are largely based on projecting our own unrealized hopes and fears. In other words, the alien begins inside ourselves, not outside of ourselves. The Embassy of Aliens seeks to set aside the violent and often exploitative themes and narrative devices that have dominated the cultural representation of aliens across films and literature for centuries. Largely shaped by existing science fiction, these perceptions of extra-terrestrial lifeforms impact how we imagine the future and how we approach conspiracy theories, space colonization, and planetary governance. Instead, The Embassy of Alien is prompting and exploring alternative imaginaries and abstract gateways through which to appreciate alien perspectives. Through creating diplomatic tools, the Embassy of Aliens seeks to develop a reimagining of aliens. Sounds of Aliens is one of the first outcomes of this inquiry. It is a musical instrument to facilitate communication between humans and their inner aliens. Through detecting human brainwaves, the instrument translates the human imagination of aliens into real-time musical signals, allowing humans to engage without visual stigma. Without figuratively showing aliens, their ‘otherness’ perspective is given agency and the hidden connotations behind them are revealed. Through this intra-planetary collaboration, the project hopes to challenge people’s stereotypes and perceived differences and borders between others, societies, and worlds.

The Embassy of Aliens is a 3-minute musical communication experience that is composed of one satellite, one brainwave headset, one embassy flag, one standing podium, and a fence. The total size is 400 x 400 x 220 cm. The brainwave headset reads the signal from the experiencer’s brain and transmits the signal to the computer in a way of numbers through Bluetooth. Max/MSP, which is the software in the computer, translates the signal from numbers to the pitch and the length of the sounds. The sounds will be played through the satellite. The satellite is made of steel and aluminum. With the audio activators attached to the surface of the satellite, the installation becomes a speaker and plays the sounds back to the experiencer through the satellite installation in real-time. The human imagination influences the brainwave signal, the brainwave signal influences the sounds, and the sounds influence the human imagination. This feedback loop makes the inner communication happen.

More information:
The Embassy of Aliens_Introduction: https://youtu.be/IUi15hDud3A
Sounds of Aliens: https://youtu.be/omQuVKSkHJQ
People Experience: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qqg-dkE8cuZ2TlWO0FR99q2VCvJ4RbM3?usp=sharing

https://www.hungluchan.com/sounds-of-aliens

https://youtu.be/omQuVKSkHJQ

https://www.instagram.com/hungluchan/