ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Shih Chieh Huang - Artist
Shih Chieh Huang doesn’t make art that’s meant to be admired from afar. He dissects and disassembles the detritus of our lives—household appliances, lights, computer parts, toys—and transforms them into surreal experiences.

Why you should listen

Shih Chieh Huang has one goal with his art: to create experiences for people to explore. He finds inspiration for his work from some highly unusual sources: a bioluminescent fish, a garbage bag, even his belly button.

A TED Fellow, Shih Chieh Huang grew up in Taiwan, where he enjoyed discovering strange objects in his local night market. He developed a passion for taking apart everyday objects and transforming them into something new. These experiences—as well as a  fellowship at the Smithsonian Institute studying bioluminescent organisms—deeply inform his work. 

Shih Chieh Huang has created a helmet that records the movement of the eye, and then uses the blinks to turn on and off a nightlight. He’s also used similar mechanisms to send glowing water pumping through tubes. His most recent work, however, takes plastic bottles, garbage bags and other everyday items and transforms them into gigantic sculptures that move and light up—as if they were actual sea creatures.  

More profile about the speaker
Shih Chieh Huang | Speaker | TED.com
TED2014

Shih Chieh Huang: Sculptures that’d be at home in the deep sea

ShihChieh Huang: Esculturas que estariam em casa no fundo do oceano

Filmed:
858,849 views

Quando jovem, o artista Shih Chieh Huang adorava desmontar brinquedos e andar pelas ruelas dos mercados noturnos de Taiwan em busca de objetos inesperados. Hoje, este TED Fellow cria esculturas excêntricas que parecem ter vida própria – com olhos que piscam, tentáculos que se desdobram e partes que acendem como as criaturas bioluminescentes marítimas.
- Artist
Shih Chieh Huang doesn’t make art that’s meant to be admired from afar. He dissects and disassembles the detritus of our lives—household appliances, lights, computer parts, toys—and transforms them into surreal experiences. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
I was born in Taiwan.
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Eu nasci em Taiwan.
00:14
I grew up surrounded by
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Cresci cercado de diversos tipos
00:16
different types of hardware stores,
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de lojas de quinquilharia,
00:19
and I like going to night markets.
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e gosto de ir aos mercados noturnos.
00:21
I love the energy of the night markets,
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Eu adoro a energia desses mercados,
00:23
the colors, the lights, the toys,
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suas cores, luzes, brinquedos,
00:25
and all the unexpected things I find every time I go,
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e todas as coisas inesperadas
que sempre encontro neles,
00:29
things like watermelon with straw antennas
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como melancias com antenas de canudos
00:32
or puppies with mohawks.
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ou filhotes de cachorro
com moicanos.
Quando era pequeno
eu gostava de desmontar brinquedos,
00:36
When I was growing up, I liked taking toys apart,
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todo tipo de brinquedo,
que achava em casa,
00:39
any kind of toys I'd find around the house,
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como a pistola BB do meu irmão
quando ele não estava em casa.
00:41
like my brother's BB gun when he's not home.
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Eu também gostava de criar ambientes
00:43
I also liked to make environments
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00:45
for people to explore and play.
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para as pessoas explorar e brincar.
00:47
In these early installations,
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Nas primeiras instalações,
00:49
I would take plastic sheets, plastic bags,
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eu pegava folhas de plástico,
sacolas de plástico
00:52
and things I would find in the hardware store
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e coisas que encontrava
na loja de quinquilharia ou em casa.
00:53
or around the house.
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Pegava coisas como
canetas marcatextos,
00:55
I would take things like highlighter pen,
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00:57
mix it with water, pump it through plastic tubing,
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misturava com água,
bombeava por um tubo de plástico
01:01
creating these glowing circulatory systems
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criando estes sistemas circulatórios
que brilhavam
01:03
for people to walk through and enjoy.
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para as pessoas passarem por eles
e se divertir.
01:06
I like these materials because of the way they look,
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Eu gosto desses materiais
por causa do seu visual,
01:08
the way they feel, and they're very affordable.
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sua sensação tátil, e por
serem de preços acessíveis.
Também gostava de produzir dispositivos
que operam com as partes do corpo.
01:12
I also liked to make devices
that work with body parts.
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01:14
I would take camera LED lights
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Eu pegava uma câmera de luzes LED,
01:17
and a bungee cord and strap it on my waist
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e uma corda elástica,
amarrava na cintura
01:19
and I would videotape my belly button,
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e fazia um vídeo do meu umbigo,
capturando uma perspectiva diferente,
01:21
get a different perspective,
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01:22
and see what it does.
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para ver o que acontecia.
(Risos)
01:24
(Laughter)
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Também gosto de modificar
eletrodomésticos.
01:26
I also like to modify household appliances.
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Isto é uma luz noturna automática,
alguns de vocês talvez a tenham em casa.
01:29
This is an automatic night light.
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01:30
Some of you might have them at home.
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01:32
I would cut out the light sensor,
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Eu cortava o sensor de luz,
01:34
add an extension line,
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juntava uma linha de extensão,
01:35
and use modeling clay,
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pegava massa de modelar
01:37
stick it onto the television,
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e a grudava na televisão.
01:39
and then I would videotape my eye,
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e então filmava meu olho,
01:41
and using the dark part of my eye
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usando a parte escura do meu olho
01:43
tricking the sensor into thinking it's night time,
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fazendo o sensor achar
que era de noite,
01:45
so you turn on the lightbulb.
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então você acende a luz.
01:46
The white of the eye and the eyelid
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O branco dos olhos e a pálpebra
01:48
will trick the sensor into thinking it's daytime,
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enganam o sensor que é de dia,
01:50
and it will shut off the light.
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e apagam a luz.
Eu queria juntar mais
tipos diferentes de olhos,
01:53
I wanted to collect more different types of eyes,
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então montei este dispositivo
feito com capacetes de bicicletas,
01:55
so I built this device using bicycle helmets,
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01:58
some lightbulbs and television sets.
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lâmpadas e aparelhos de TV.
Seria mais fácil para as outras pessoas
colocar o capacete
02:00
It would be easier for other
people to wear the helmet
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02:03
and record their eyes.
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e gravar seus olhos.
02:05
This device allows me to symbolically
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Este dispositivo me permite,
simbolicamente,
02:08
extract other people's eyes,
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extrair os olhos das pessoas,
02:10
so I have a diversity of eyes to use
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assim tenho diversos olhos para usar
02:12
for my other sculptures.
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em minhas outras esculturas.
02:20
This sculpture has four eyes.
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Esta escultura tem 4 olhos.
Cada olho está controlando
um dispositivo diferente.
02:22
Each eye is controlling a different device.
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02:24
This eye is turning itself around in a television.
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Este olho está se virando
em uma televisão.
02:28
This eye is inflating a plastic tube.
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Este olho está inflando
um tubo de plástico.
02:30
This eye is watching a video
of another piece being made.
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Este olho está assistindo um vídeo
de uma outra peça sendo feita.
02:34
And these two eyes are activating glowing water.
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E estes dois estão ativando
água brilhante
02:38
Many of these pieces are later on shown
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Muitas destas peças
estarão em exibição
02:40
in museums, biennials, triennial exhibitions
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em museus, bienais e trienais
02:42
around the world.
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no mundo todo.
02:44
I love science and biology.
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Eu adoro ciência e biologia.
Em 2007, consegui uma bolsa
para fazer pesquisa
02:47
In 2007, I was doing a research fellowship
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no Museu de História Natural
do Instituto Smithsonian
02:49
at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum
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02:51
looking at bioluminous organisms in the oean.
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observando organismos
bioluminescente do oceano.
02:54
I love these creatures. I love the
way they look, the way they feel.
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Amo estas criaturas.
Amo seu visual e sua textura.
Eles são macios e pegajosos,
02:57
They're soft, they're slimy,
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03:00
and I was fascinated by the way they use light
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e fascinei-me
com a maneira que usam luz
03:02
in their environment,
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em seu meio ambiente,
03:03
either to attract mates, for self-defense,
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para atrair parceiros
sexuais, autodefesa,
03:06
or to attract food.
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ou atrair alimento.
Esta pesquisa inspirou
meu trabalho de diversas formas
03:08
This research inspired my
work in many different ways,
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03:11
things like movement or different light patterns.
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como movimento
ou padrões de luz diferentes.
Então, comecei a juntar
03:18
So I started gathering a lot of
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03:19
different types of material in my studio
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muitos tipos diferentes
de material no meu estúdio
03:22
and just experimenting
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e experimentava
03:23
and trying this out, trying that out,
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e tentava isto e aquilo,
03:25
and seeing what types of creatures I can come up with.
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vendo que tipos de criaturas
eu poderia criar.
03:27
I used a lot of computer cooling fans
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Usei muitos ventiladores de computador
03:30
and just kind of put them
together and see what happens.
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e simplesmente os juntava
para ver o que acontecia.
Esta instalação é de 740 m2
03:33
This is an 8,000-square-foot installation
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composta de muitas criaturas diferentes,
03:35
composed of many different creatures,
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umas penduradas no teto
e outras no chão.
03:37
some hanging from the ceiling
and some resting on the floor.
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De longe elas parecem ser alienígenas,
03:40
From afar, they look alien-like,
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03:42
but when you look closer,
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mas quando se olha de perto,
elas são feitas de sacos preto de lixo
03:43
they're all made out of black garbage bags
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03:45
or Tupperware containers.
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ou tigelas Tupperware.
03:46
I'd like to share with you how ordinary things
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Eu gostaria de partilhar com vocês
como coisas corriqueiras
03:49
can become something magical and wondrous.
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podem se transformar
em algo mágico e maravilhoso.
04:06
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
05:04
Thank you.
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Obrigado.
05:06
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Nadja Nathan
Reviewed by Enrico Stefano

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Shih Chieh Huang - Artist
Shih Chieh Huang doesn’t make art that’s meant to be admired from afar. He dissects and disassembles the detritus of our lives—household appliances, lights, computer parts, toys—and transforms them into surreal experiences.

Why you should listen

Shih Chieh Huang has one goal with his art: to create experiences for people to explore. He finds inspiration for his work from some highly unusual sources: a bioluminescent fish, a garbage bag, even his belly button.

A TED Fellow, Shih Chieh Huang grew up in Taiwan, where he enjoyed discovering strange objects in his local night market. He developed a passion for taking apart everyday objects and transforming them into something new. These experiences—as well as a  fellowship at the Smithsonian Institute studying bioluminescent organisms—deeply inform his work. 

Shih Chieh Huang has created a helmet that records the movement of the eye, and then uses the blinks to turn on and off a nightlight. He’s also used similar mechanisms to send glowing water pumping through tubes. His most recent work, however, takes plastic bottles, garbage bags and other everyday items and transforms them into gigantic sculptures that move and light up—as if they were actual sea creatures.  

More profile about the speaker
Shih Chieh Huang | Speaker | TED.com
THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM