Guo Cheng:
Digital Terraforming
Guo Cheng:
Digital Terraforming
Ongoing
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. 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.
Guo’s investigation into digital infrastructure also manifests in his M+ commission Becoming Ripples (2024) featured in the exhibition Shanshui: Echoes and Signals. For more details, please refer to the section below.
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About the Artist
Guo Cheng (b. 1988, Beijing) is an artist currently living and working in Shanghai. He predominantly works in sculpture and installation, integrating video, photography, and other mixed media to explore the mutual impact and influence between established and emerging technologies and individuals in the context of culture and social life.. In recent years, his work has centered on ubiquitous artificial objects and infrastructure from a planetary perspective, integrating themes such as the Anthropocene and the Chinese internet. Guo’s works often employ a humorous yet composed tone to link grand larger issues with seemingly arbitrary objects, offering critical perspectives for discussion. Recent solo exhibitions include The Park (Sifang Art Museum, 2022) and Almost Unmeant (Magician Space, 2020). Group exhibitions include Shanshui: Echoes and Signals (M+ Museum, 2024), The Larva of Time (Institute of Contemporary Art ICA at NYU Shanghai, 2024), the Macao International Art Biennale (2023), the Chengdu Biennale (2023), and The Pieces I Am (UCCA Edge, 2022). Guo’s accolades include an Honorary Mention at Ars Electronica (2020), the Digital Earth Fellowship (2018–2019), the Special Jury Prize of the Huayu Youth Award (2018), and the Bio-Art & Design Award (2017). His works are in the collections of M+ (Hong Kong), the Power Station of Art (Shanghai), the Sigg Collection (Switzerland), and others.
Related Work
About Digital Commissions
M+ is committed to providing platforms for projects by creative practitioners who propose new frameworks and discussions for visual culture. M+ launched its ongoing series of digital commissions in 2018 to address aspects of digital culture today, pointing to new, pressing lines of enquiry. The experimental, browser-based works in this series explore the intersection of visual culture and technology, encompassing data visualisation, interactive design, gamification, and creative technology.
Image at top: Guo Cheng. Digital Terraforming, 2025. Image: Courtesy of artist