Anicka Yi Lithic Infinite, 2023-2024

Suspended from the ceiling (or equivalent suspension points), the sculpture appears to hover in space. Forming a translucent surface around the transparent frame housing the animatronic metal skeleton, optical fibers run along the bodies, sometimes as a fine web, sometimes collected in thick bundles or braids. Modeled on radiolaria—minuscule water-dwelling single-cell micro-organisms dating back to the Cambrian period of Earth’s history, circa 500 million years ago—the sculptures have elongated oval shapes formed by the fine cables aligned vertically along their bodies. Tendril-like mechanical arms made from metal are covered with transparent acrylic elements that echo vertebra and very slowly undulate, subtly recalling the movements of their biological progenitors in deep waters. This sense of watching biological beings is underlined by the flickering light the cables emit, which travels along the delicate bodies animating them.

The different forms of arranging the optical fibers—sometimes aligned in an orderly vertical web, in other places woven in braids or gathered in thick bundles that spread out feather-like—recall the age-old tradition of braiding hair or weaving other organic materials. A meditative, ritualistic practice that has a wide range of connotations across time and cultural realms, weaving endows the technological cables with unexpected organic associations.