Yiwei Lu - Simulated Earth
Simulated Earth is about the hydraulic model that my father works on. The idea of Simulated Earth comes from René Descartes’s simulated earth theory. The theory is the proposal that all of reality, including the Earth and the rest of the universe, could be an artificial simulation. Usually, when talking about Simulated Earth, we will think of some electronic high-tech things, such as computer simulation or metaverse. But here is the hydraulic model built with concrete and bricks. The hydraulic model is a scaled-down model used to simulate ocean currents, docks, etc. in marine engineering. It is a research approach to solving engineering problems through simulation based on a similar theory.
Meanwhile, I grew up there with cement and tiny fake grass because my father is a hydraulic engineer. I watched my father walking through that shadow and sunlight, looking at the world he made. Humans become the god at a specific moment and space to recreate the nature that can be controlled by them. It was the first time I really understood his profession, his life outside of fatherhood.
Every shooting, I visit the different model halls with my father. He explains to me the purpose of each model and the principles for the experiment. I don't know much about hydraulic engineering, but I understand what I am looking at and my father. This scientific experiment is a simulation of the earth we live in, just as photography is a replica of reality.
