Jiabao Li \ Squid Map
About the Artwork
Squid Map, by Jiabao Li, is a projection and sand installation that comments on the arbitrariness of imposed borders and the cross-cultural pollination that occurs in migration. While working with Kewalo Marine Biology Lab in Hawaii, Li noted the behaviors exhibited by the observed squids and imagined an environment where the squids might react differently. To simulate these different environments, Li collected white and black sand, and formed land masses in familiar country shapes. Li noted two things: Firstly, the squid freely moved between the two landmass boundaries created by the different colored sand; Secondly, the squid also made attempts to camouflage itself as he migrated back and forth between the two “countries.” After one month, the previously distinct and separate borders of the different colored countries were completely homogenized, unable to pick apart one from another.
Li relates herself and her experience as an immigrant to these squids, moving between two countries whilst grappling with the cultural and social environments of both places. While seemingly insignificant at times, particularly amidst almost uncontrollable external circumstances, like the squid, Li ultimately embodies the power of diasporic resiliency, reshaping an immigrant narrative where immigrants are at the center.
For Squid Map’s presentation at Edge on the Square, viewers are invited to walk across the length of sand mass or “country”. Each journey back and forth between the two ends further blur the boundaries between the different masses. In effect, the participant becomes the squid, a traveler between lands, navigating, breaking, and remaking the boundaries that define ourselves with agency and ingenuity, until the boundaries become unrecognizable at all.
About Jiabao
Jiabao Li is an Artist, Assistant Professor at The University of Texas at Austin, Founding Director of Ecocentric Future Lab, Co-founder and Chief Design Officer of Endless Health, and a Harvard graduate. She creates works addressing climate change, interspecies co-creation, humane technology, and perceptions. In Jiabao’s TED Talk, she uncovered how technology mediates the way we perceive reality. At Apple, she invented and explored new technologies for future products like the Apple Vision Pro. Jiabao is the recipient of numerous awards including Forbes China 30 Under 30 and the Outstanding Professor Award at MoMA. Her work has been exhibited internationally, at MoMA, Venice Architecture Biennale, Future of Today Biennial, SIGGRAPH, Milan and Dubai Design Week, ISEA, etc.