数字地球拓扑
定制软件
线上作品
2025
一次网页按钮的点击是如何在物质世界中实现的？在《数字地球拓扑》中，艺术家郭城把单次点击引发的数据转输，以拓扑学方式视觉化成一场穿梭时空之旅，重新想像在几毫秒内跃过位于不同地域服务器的IP地址的过程。郭城以异想天开却发人深省的手法，从各IP地址向其位于地球内部的中心点“捏造”出一个扭曲的球形，象征点击一瞬时空的戏剧性压缩，使的真实世界中相隔千里的网络节点变得近在咫尺。广义上来讲，此作品指向数码时代时空体验的变形加速，激发观众对当代生活的深刻反思。
在压缩的地球内，艺术家邀请观众窥探如今盘踞在世界海床的海底光缆。该隐秘的海底通讯设置最初发明于1850年代，承载了全球大部分的数码通讯，是现今科技时代不可或缺的基础设施。艺术家透过这件作品试图揭开支撑着现代生活的数码流程和基础设施的神秘面纱，呈现出日常难以一见的复杂系统。
此外，观众可以下载本地浏览途经的IP地址而生成的数字地球，也可以探索档案库中随机展示的其他数字地球。除IP地址外，作品不会储存任何个人资料，以保障私隐。
界面设计：陈逸云
网站开发：邱伟豪
声音设计：全泽瑞
Digital Terraforming
custom program
Online
2025
How is a single mouse click on a webpage button experienced in the physical world? In Digital Terraforming, artist Guo Cheng visualises the temporal and spatial journey of a single click through topology. The data transmission of a click, which typically leaps through several servers in different locations with distinctive IP addresses within milliseconds, is reimagined here. In a whimsical yet thought-provoking way, Guo ‘pinches’ the Earth from the locations of these IP addresses, collapsing them into a central point inside the globe. The result is a distorted spherical shape that symbolises the dramatic compression of time and space during the event of a click, It brings network nodes that are thousands of miles apart in the real world within close reach. On a broader level, the work points to the experience of acceleration in a digital era caused by the morphing of time and space, prompting profound reflection on contemporary life.
Inside the globe, Guo invites viewers to peer into the map of undersea cables, invented in 1850s, that now stretch across the seabed of the Earth. These cables, often hidden from view, form an indispensable part of the infrastructure in today’s Information Age and carry the majority of global digital communication. Through the work, Guo seeks to demystify the digital processes and infrastructures that underpin modern life—systems that are highly complex and largely invisible in our everyday experience.
Additionally, viewers can download the globes generated based on the unique IP paths of their visits and explore other globes that are randomly selected to display in the archive. No personal information is stored with the IP addresses, ensuring privacy.
UI Design: CHEN Yiyun
Web Developer: Weihao Qiu
Sound Design: Zerui Quan
