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Over the last decades, we have been witnessing a significant transformation in the relationship between humankind and nature. Climate change accelerated by global warming, environmental pollution and ecological destruction have finally driven us to the brink of a fatal crisis, forcing us to rethink the relationship between the human species and our planet.

The Great Chronicle with Earth, currently taking place in Space 2 in ACC Creation at the Asia Culture Center (ACC), is a multidisciplinary exhibition featuring the latest digital technologies. It is aimed at making us question how we could save ourselves and the planet Earth in this day and age of the Anthropocene.

The Anthropocene refers to the epoch in the history of the Earth where the human impact on the planet has been dominant. Since being coined by chemist Paul Crutzen in 2000, the term has come to find increasing acceptance as researchers worldwide face a growing need to label a new addition to the geological time scale. Although the term “Anthropocene” has yet to be accepted as an official geological term, it continues to spark important debates across disciplines as a new philosophical and anthropological concept.

#1. Chronicling the Earth: “Imaginary Portal”

The first thing welcoming visitors to the exhibition space is a huge gate, 17 meters by 7 meters and lit with light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. Named “Imaginary Portal,” the gate marks the border between The Great Chronicle with Earth and the outside world. Its cave-like design is deliberate, as it is meant to provide a passageway between two different worlds. The portal displays video footages and images of the evolution of human civilization, from the Cave of Altamira to ancient Egypt, the Industrial Revolution, and media art by Paik Nam June. The gate features an anamorphic format—a technique that creates visual illusions to maximize dimensional depth. It is digital touches like these that deepen the visitor’s experience of immersion in the exhibition.

#2. A Digitally Re-Created Nature: “Circulation of Water”

Beyond the imaginary portal lies a blue-lit circle-shaped miniature ocean titled “Circulation of Water.” This media art installation shows water cascading from the imposing LED-lit chandelier above, simulated waves, and countless marine lives swimming, including whales, jellyfishes, and fish. The cascading water is then absorbed back and comes out again. Through the endless repetition of water stopping and flowing, the artwork tries to visualize the resilience that the Earth and its natural systems have exhibited over thousands of years.

The artwork also provides the visitor with the bold experience of walking over the wave-crashing circular ocean. It reenacts, at least to a partial extent, the kind of awe we feel when we are overwhelmed by nature. Is the artist trying to reassure us that digital technology can replicate nature? Whatever the intent, the artwork certainly beckons us to rethink our perspective on nature. It also leads us to hope that the natural ecosystem would solve the climate and environmental crisis we are facing with its resilience.

Stand on the artwork, and you will see waves and fish moving beneath your feet. You could feel as if you were standing over water with some depth beneath. As you walk, your footprints will continue to create ripples on the surface of the digital water. You can enjoy a different view of the artwork from the second floor.

#3. The Earth Seen from the Space: “New Planetary System”

“New Planetary System” shows the Earth seen from the outer space. It consists of spheres floating inside a dark room as if to form our solar system. The light reflected off the mirrors and shining onto these spheres suggests an infinitely expanding cosmos, inviting us to imagine the eternal time-space continuum that is the universe.

#4. The Space Seen from the Earth: “One Day”

Whereas “New Planetary System” shows the Earth as seen from the space, “One Day” shows the space seen from the Earth. This work invites us to escape our daily hassle for the time being and appreciate the movements of the stars and the northern lights, showing us how day and night passes on our planet.

The work consists of circular couches on which you can actually lie down and view the 360-degree digital video projected onto the ceiling. The immersive sound effect, courtesy of the popular Korean indie singer-songwriter Lucid Fall, induces a meditative mode. Watching the show of light and darkness on the constantly changing sky to the captivating tune of music makes us newly appreciate something as ordinary as the passage of night and day on earth.

“New Planetary System”

“One Day”

#5. Human Experiences Visualized in Response to the Audience’s Voices: “SoundWave”

Designed to respond in real time to voices from the audience, “SoundWave” visualizes the dynamic and diverse human experiences occurring in the passage of time on earth. There are two microphones in front of the screen. Speaking into the one on the left-hand side causes images on the screen to combine together. Speaking into the one on the right-hand side leads the images to break apart. Speaking into both simultaneously causes images to change in new patterns. All these visual effects seem to suggest that the progress of history—and where we are ultimately headed in the future—is through the dialectic of thesis-antithesis-synthesis.

#6. Memories of the Pristine Earth: “Largo”

“Largo,” by the media artist Claude, visualizes the beginnings of the Earth newly imagined, as a mix of liquid and gas before it solidified. Largo is also the term in classical music meaning “very slowly.” The slow transformation of the air bubbles reminds us of the extreme slowness with which the planetary system came into being and defamiliarizes us, at least momentarily, from the very rapid pace that has come to define everyday life for humans since the Industrial Revolution.

“SoundWave”

“Largo”

#7. A Message of Recovery: “A Story from the Future”

You will find “A Story from the Future,” an anarmorphic reconstruction of BBRun, a virtual-reality immersive work of theater developed by the ACC, when you exit through the Imaginary Portal and turn right. Unlike the original production, “A Story from the Future” allows you to experience all its dynamics and immersiveness without the aid of a VR headset. The plot is led by BB and BBRun, two animated characters that fed on various pollutants and viruses found on a destroyed Earth in 2080, as they embark on a journey in search for a new seed of life.

#8. Efforts Made by All of Us: “The Seed of Life”

“The Seed of Life” is an interactive video that extends from the BBRun worldview. When you stand next to BBRun, crying at the sight of a devastated Earth, the character stops crying and plants the seed of life, which blossoms into flowers that eventually revives the wasteland. The more people there are who stand next to BBRun, the more the flowers that blossom.

“A Story from the Future”

“The Seed of Life”

At the end of your tour of the exhibition, you can take pictures in “The Time of Me and the Earth,” a photo zone, and create your own poster.

A visitor posing at the photo zone.

The Great Chronicle with Earth draws attention with the diversity of digital contents it features, including immersive and anamorphic videos and soundscapes. Not only does it entertain the audience with the spectacles of the latest technology, but it also encourages the audience to think again about important topics.

What would the Anthropocene and its crises mean for the future of humankind? Will humans eventually destroy themselves and nature? Or will they learn to adapt to the unpredictable changes of the Earth and change themselves accordingly? Should we let nature run its course and work its resilient magic? Or should we look for other ways to enhance our chances of survival? The current exhibition leaves the audience with more questions than they had when they entered it. The Great Chronicle with Earth is a perfect opportunity to take a new perspective on the past and present of our planet, and to think about how we, as humans, should prepare for its future.