On average, I test my blood sugar five times a day and scan the log sheet on which I take down my blood sugar level. From 1983 until today, I have recorded over 50,000 pieces of information.
The idea behind this project is to exhibit the changes of my blood sugar level (from 1983 to the end of the exhibition) with printed records, which are showcased all over walls and ceiling of the exhibition venue. My blood sugar level is keyed into a Microsoft Excel file, while a dot-matrix printer prints out the daily record on a piece of copy paper (there have been 10,585 days since 1983, and hence 10,585 pieces of paper). A sensor is installed at the entrance of the exhibition venue, and the computer and printer start working whenever the door to the exhibition hall opens. When the door closes, the computer and printer stop printing. Therefore, the door to the exhibition venue actually controls the speed of printing, the goal of which is to showcase my blood sugar log for the duration of the exhibition. One piece of the double layer printing paper is stored in a paper box, documented as the files for the “Being Level” exhibition, while the other piece of paper is showcased in the exhibition venue, pasted either on the walls, floors, or ceiling of the exhibition hall chronologically as installation. At the end of the exhibition the pieces of paper are removed and crumpled into a huge paper ball conceptual sculpture, carrying its own meaning.
This project explores the existential state of men. Blood sugar tests represent my state at the time of the measurement. Every measurement is a point in time, while the lines between different points do not form a straight line. Basically, the lines connecting two points remain a mystery, yet in our minds we feel like we have lived from the previous moment to the next. In real life, single points in time (referring to the time of measurements) do not really exist. Rather, we are the ones who have connected the dots, which make us feel like we have lived in a specific moment. I have tried to showcase the state of existence through this kind of “performance,” and therefore will be testing my blood sugar again before the end of the exhibition. The data will be inserted into a computer, and printed out to bring the exhibition to an end. The whole process is expected to take several decades, representing “living” in a short period of time over and over again. This will be a life-long project.
一般而言，我平均一天檢驗血糖五次，並掃描記錄血糖值的表格。自1983年迄今，血糖數值記錄已超過五萬筆。
這件作品的構想是在一個展覽期間內，將多年的血糖記錄（1983 ~ 展覽閉幕前）列印、裝置在展場空間的上下四方。先將記錄輸入微軟Excel檔案中，以一台點陣式印表機，將一天的紀錄列印在一張雙層的印表紙上（自1983年迄今約有10,585日，也就是10,585張印表紙）。在展場入口裝置感應器，只要展廳門一打開，電腦和印表機就會起動列印；只要門一關上，電腦和印表機就暫停列印的工作。藉由開關展廳門控制列印的速度，目標是在展覽檔期的時間內將累積迄今的血糖檢驗紀錄呈現出來。印出的雙層印表紙，一層會直接存入紙箱做為〈存在水平〉的文件；一層依時序貼在展場四方、地面及天花板成為裝置，在展演結束後卸下這些紙張，揉壓成一個可視為觀念性的大紙球雕塑。
這件作品探討的是人存在的狀態，我所做的血糖測量代表了我當時存在的狀況，每測一次就在時間中建立一個點。事實上，點與點之間不是一段直線，兩點之間的存在是一個謎，但我們卻在觀念裡認為自己從上一刻活到下一刻，點（時間與數據）其實並不客觀存在，是我們將點連成了線，所以才有活過某段時間的感覺。我是依表演的觀念來展現存在的現象，所以在展覽結束前我會再驗一次血糖，輸入最新的數據，就在列印出來的那一刻結束展覽。這等於是將數十年的過程，在一短期限內起起伏伏的活一遍。這個計劃將是一個終生的計劃。
The idea behind this project is to exhibit the changes of my blood sugar level (from 1983 to the end of the exhibition) with printed records, which are showcased all over walls and ceiling of the exhibition venue. My blood sugar level is keyed into a Microsoft Excel file, while a dot-matrix printer prints out the daily record on a piece of copy paper (there have been 10,585 days since 1983, and hence 10,585 pieces of paper). A sensor is installed at the entrance of the exhibition venue, and the computer and printer start working whenever the door to the exhibition hall opens. When the door closes, the computer and printer stop printing. Therefore, the door to the exhibition venue actually controls the speed of printing, the goal of which is to showcase my blood sugar log for the duration of the exhibition. One piece of the double layer printing paper is stored in a paper box, documented as the files for the “Being Level” exhibition, while the other piece of paper is showcased in the exhibition venue, pasted either on the walls, floors, or ceiling of the exhibition hall chronologically as installation. At the end of the exhibition the pieces of paper are removed and crumpled into a huge paper ball conceptual sculpture, carrying its own meaning.
This project explores the existential state of men. Blood sugar tests represent my state at the time of the measurement. Every measurement is a point in time, while the lines between different points do not form a straight line. Basically, the lines connecting two points remain a mystery, yet in our minds we feel like we have lived from the previous moment to the next. In real life, single points in time (referring to the time of measurements) do not really exist. Rather, we are the ones who have connected the dots, which make us feel like we have lived in a specific moment. I have tried to showcase the state of existence through this kind of “performance,” and therefore will be testing my blood sugar again before the end of the exhibition. The data will be inserted into a computer, and printed out to bring the exhibition to an end. The whole process is expected to take several decades, representing “living” in a short period of time over and over again. This will be a life-long project.
一般而言，我平均一天檢驗血糖五次，並掃描記錄血糖值的表格。自1983年迄今，血糖數值記錄已超過五萬筆。
這件作品的構想是在一個展覽期間內，將多年的血糖記錄（1983 ~ 展覽閉幕前）列印、裝置在展場空間的上下四方。先將記錄輸入微軟Excel檔案中，以一台點陣式印表機，將一天的紀錄列印在一張雙層的印表紙上（自1983年迄今約有10,585日，也就是10,585張印表紙）。在展場入口裝置感應器，只要展廳門一打開，電腦和印表機就會起動列印；只要門一關上，電腦和印表機就暫停列印的工作。藉由開關展廳門控制列印的速度，目標是在展覽檔期的時間內將累積迄今的血糖檢驗紀錄呈現出來。印出的雙層印表紙，一層會直接存入紙箱做為〈存在水平〉的文件；一層依時序貼在展場四方、地面及天花板成為裝置，在展演結束後卸下這些紙張，揉壓成一個可視為觀念性的大紙球雕塑。
這件作品探討的是人存在的狀態，我所做的血糖測量代表了我當時存在的狀況，每測一次就在時間中建立一個點。事實上，點與點之間不是一段直線，兩點之間的存在是一個謎，但我們卻在觀念裡認為自己從上一刻活到下一刻，點（時間與數據）其實並不客觀存在，是我們將點連成了線，所以才有活過某段時間的感覺。我是依表演的觀念來展現存在的現象，所以在展覽結束前我會再驗一次血糖，輸入最新的數據，就在列印出來的那一刻結束展覽。這等於是將數十年的過程，在一短期限內起起伏伏的活一遍。這個計劃將是一個終生的計劃。
