Jiabao Li, Seeing Through New Eyes: Co-Creating with the More-Than-Human World
November 23 2024, 17:00 GMT/ 12:00 EST/ 09:00 PST (5pm GMT/ 12pm EST/ 9am PST)
Seeing Through New Eyes: Co-Creating with the More-Than-Human World
Jiabao Li argues that a human-centered perspective limits our understanding of the world, often leading to ecological harm. Jiabao asks, what if we broadened our view to recognize the intelligence and agency of other species? This talk presents an eco-centric design approach that challenges human exceptionalism and reimagines our relationship with the non-human world. By embracing the vast intelligence beyond our own, Li calls on us to question our assumptions and hierarchies.
In the face of the Anthropocene's devastating impact, her work proposes a shift from passive observation to meaningful co-creation with the more-than-human world. Li introduces a framework for this collaboration, guiding us through three stages:
Empathize and embody other species' experiences;
Speak up for them through manifestos;
Co-create and co-design with them.
In this lecture, Li shares her stories of creating with the more-than-human world: a squid that reinterprets human-made maps and borders, a mouse that becomes your running coach, the elephant in the room, screaming and echolocating like bats, a cricket Butoh performance under the supermoon, and an octopus that teaches us interspecies metamorphosis.
About the Speaker
Jiabao Li is an Artist, Assistant Professor at The University of Texas at Austin, Founding Director of Ecocentric Future Lab, Co-founder and Chief Product 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 Instructor 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.
