present tense – territory
present tense – territory explores the intersection of spatial territorialisation and temporal recursivity.
Inspired by the current exploration of Mars, the work reflects on how scientific inquiry is often entangled with political agendas—particularly the ambition to expand the boundaries of human habitation. Temporally, the act of claiming new territory is marked by repetition: re-naming, re-defining, and re-framing—themes evoked through the concept of the “present tense.”
This installation juxtaposes wooden landscapes with laser light to visualise these layered dynamics.
Distortions, misalignments, and failed navigations are not merely technical anomalies but deliberate spaces for speculation and reimagination.
By blurring scientific pursuit with poetic disarray, the work invites viewers to reflect on how frontiers—both spatial and temporal—are constructed, challenged, and continually rewritten.
“Present tense is not present.
It is permanence that we fabricate.
Territory exists in present tense.
It is a recursive computation of topological reality.”
The patterns in present tense – territory consist of the Martian topography and circuitry.
The nova topos of territorialisation and its computational resource are undergoing chimerisation—traced and engraved by laser light.
