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Installation2022



# Soul Fish



[video](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/a6d3d4de-hero.mp4)


One fish from the Venice build: drifting quietly for six seconds, then sprinting with an arrow key held, then easing back; rendered live by the browser, with no post-production.Muted loop



Archive year



2022



Type



Installation



Artist



Che-Yu Wu 吳哲宇



Origin



31 March 2022, the first fish in the daily practice (p5.js)



Release



30 June 2022, fxhash #15625, 400 editions; sold out on 16 January 2023



Medium



p5.js, GLSL shaders, generative piano in Tone.js; computed live in the browser



Interactive version



December 2023, DIGI-FI Yilan: a touchscreen extracts the colour of a soul and grows a fish for the visitor



Venice



April to November 2024, Personal Structures organised by the European Cultural Centre during the Venice Art Biennale, Palazzo Bembo



Light field version



August 2026, glasses-free 3D on Looking Glass Go



Permanent home



soulfish.art.cheyuwu.com (the root is the Venice build, /yilan/ the Yilan build, /fxhash/ the 2022 generator)



The 400 editions



[Every hash, the sixteen traits, rarity and the capture at mint, filterable by palette, background, scales and chord set](https://cheyuwu.com/nft/soulfish/)



Contents & work details



Archive year



2022



Type



Installation



Artist



Che-Yu Wu 吳哲宇



Origin



31 March 2022, the first fish in the daily practice (p5.js)



Release



30 June 2022, fxhash #15625, 400 editions; sold out on 16 January 2023



Medium



p5.js, GLSL shaders, generative piano in Tone.js; computed live in the browser



Interactive version



December 2023, DIGI-FI Yilan: a touchscreen extracts the colour of a soul and grows a fish for the visitor



Venice



April to November 2024, Personal Structures organised by the European Cultural Centre during the Venice Art Biennale, Palazzo Bembo



Light field version



August 2026, glasses-free 3D on Looking Glass Go



Permanent home



soulfish.art.cheyuwu.com (the root is the Venice build, /yilan/ the Yilan build, /fxhash/ the 2022 generator)



The 400 editions



Every hash, the sixteen traits, rarity and the capture at mint, filterable by palette, background, scales and chord set



Overview



When I first thought of making Soul Fish, the inspiration came from the creatures of the deep sea: translucent bodies drifting in the water, each carrying its own organs of light to illuminate what surrounds it. That organic quality fascinated me, and it reminded me of the physically simulated motion I had always loved, halos and tendrils, so I decided to take a deep-sea fish as the subject and create a fish of fine structure and a half-transparent body, floating like a soul in dark waters, untouched by time, able to exist and swim forever. That is why they are called Soul Fish.



The name also comes from my own name: the last character of Wu Che-Yu, 宇, sounds like 魚, fish. They are born in the void, crystallised from every kind of emotion, and they swim quietly in the deep, bringing calm; some are covered in bright scales, others drift slowly, their bodies almost vanishing into the light of the deep sea.



### Where it comes from



The inspiration begins with the last character of my name, 宇, the vastness of the universe. Early on I noticed that three quarters of a sine wave looks very much like a fish and its tail: from the back to the upper edge of the tail runs one rising wave, and the lower edge of the tail follows with a falling half-wave. Take a single wave, copy and mirror it above and below at different ratios, trace a centre line, and the outline of a fish appears. Through mathematics and motion simulation, that thought grew into an organic, endlessly extendable fish.



### How it grows



The body is made entirely of mathematics. The spine at the centre sways segment by segment; the tendrils, like lifelines, are twenty-odd points pulled along by a chain simulation; on the membranes of the tail and fins, every line swings to its own computed randomness. The colours span the whole spectrum, and each fish carries the iridescence of a bubble's surface, as if it were a small creature painted with light as the brush. Every fish grown from the same rules has its own number of lines, its own size and its own structure.



Eight memories of the same rules8



[video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/)


#348: Purple and deep pink, large, with spine, no scales, chord set D7-2



[video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/)


#304: Dark gold and khaki, tiny, with spine, strip scales, chord set A-1



[video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/)


#49: Azure and white, large, arrow scales, four tendrils, chord set D7-1



[video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/)


#283: Maroon and sienna, dot scales, vertical fin, chord set Bm-1



[video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/)


#235: Gainsboro and snow, fan scales, the thickest body, chord set C7-1



[video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/)


#202: Lawn green and pale green, with spine, six tendrils, the thinnest lines, chord set Dm-1



[video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/)


#291: Gold and khaki, no scales, no vertical fin, chord set Am-1



[video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/)


#262: Dark sea green and pale green, arrow scales, chord set Gm-1



Eight fish chosen from the 400 editions, each with its own number, colour and chord set; in every tile the first three seconds are idle and the last three a sprint.



The journey: from one daily sketch to a wall in Venice8


1. 01
  
  ### March 2022
  
  
  
  The first fish in the daily practice; five versions in a month grow scales, tendrils and music
2. 02
  
  ### May 2022
  
  
  
  First solo show Chaos Laboratory, immersive projection at Taipei 101; the same month, projected onto the sphere of the Taipei Performing Arts Center
3. 03
  
  ### 30 June 2022
  
  
  
  Released on fxhash, 400 editions; sold out on 16 January 2023
4. 04
  
  ### October 2023
  
  
  
  Act eight of the solo exhibition The Great Equation, Taipei 101
5. 05
  
  ### December 2023
  
  
  
  DIGI-FI Yilan, the first interactive version: sensing the colour of a soul
6. 06
  
  ### April to November 2024
  
  
  
  Personal Structures in Venice, Palazzo Bembo
7. 07
  
  ### December 2024 and July 2025
  
  
  
  Shown in two LG exhibitions, Eternal Floral Realm and Physis
8. 08
  
  ### August 2026
  
  
  
  A glasses-free 3D light field version on Looking Glass Go: the fish floats in front of your eyes



On site, 2022 to 202420



![Soul Fish on site: Chaos Laboratory, 2022: a wall of blue and violet fish](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/729a5866-chaos-01.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: Chaos Laboratory: orange fish and a visitor](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/a8250849-chaos-02.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: Chaos Laboratory: the white shoal](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/0de894e5-chaos-03.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: Chaos Laboratory: yellow fish and their reflection on the floor](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/5f4e2729-chaos-04.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: The Great Equation, 2023: the deep sea of act eight](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/ad9b2ece-equation-01.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: The Great Equation: Soul Fish behind the piano](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/7ebd6a98-equation-02.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: DIGI-FI Yilan, 2023: a blue fish on the big screen](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/b8b0c856-yilan-01.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: DIGI-FI Yilan: a palm on the touch panel, extracting the colour of a soul](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/fc3e2db4-yilan-02.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: DIGI-FI Yilan: an orange fish](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/56299c25-yilan-03.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: DIGI-FI Yilan: visitors and a green fish](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/72415542-yilan-04.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: DIGI-FI Yilan: a photo with your own fish](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/2e802710-yilan-05.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: DIGI-FI Yilan: the room](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/530e8cec-yilan-06.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: Venice, 2024: a visitor at the touchscreen, a blue fish on the wall](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/b765be76-venice-01.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: Venice: a golden fish and visitors](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/51dcec81-venice-02.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: Venice: a green and pink fish](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/1791c37e-venice-03.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: Venice: a pink and white fish](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/e3bd0afb-venice-04.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: Venice: the projection up close](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/84ca1c8a-venice-05.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: Venice: the room](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/8d9636a3-venice-06.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: Tempo House, 2024: Soul Fish on a small screen](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/09442011-tempo-01.webp)



![Soul Fish on site: NFT NYC, 2024: Soul Fish on the ZEROFRAME booth screen](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/6a54133a-nyc-01.webp)



Chaos Laboratory and The Great Equation were photographed on commission for MONOLAB; Yilan from phones on site and the organiser's promotional photographs; Venice by the team. Click any image to enlarge.



![Act eight of The Great Equation: the Soul Fish scene, wide](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/ad9b2ece-equation-01.webp)


The Great Equation, AMBI SPACE ONE, Taipei 101, October 2023. Photography commissioned by MONOLAB



### The Great Equation, act eight



In the solo exhibition The Great Equation in October 2023, Soul Fish was placed at the moment the whole journey sinks into the deep: the world runs from the mountains to the sea and then further down, coloured energy lights up the floor, and the fish are born one by one, circling slowly around the visitors lying on the ground. In that act only the soft sound of a piano remains, and some people lay there and wept. I have always imagined these fish as human emotions, small glowing creatures slowly crystallising in the deep sea.



## Genome



Every Soul Fish carries its own genome, which records whether it has fins, how wide its body is, how many lines it has and the value of every parameter; what I define is the DNA, and the fish grows itself. The hash of each edition first becomes a stream of random numbers, and the stream decides sixteen traits in order: palette, background, body size, solid or gradient colouring, main and dark colour, the number of tendrils, the density of lines, the type of scales, the vertical fin, the spine, the upper and lower fins and their sizes, and the chord set it will keep for life. The same stream also feeds the noise and the physics, so the same hash always grows the same fish.



How a hash becomes a fish6


1. 01
  
  ### hash
  
  
  
  51 characters, assigned on chain at mint
2. 02
  
  ### Random stream
  
  
  
  The same hash always gives the same numbers
3. 03
  
  ### Form
  
  
  
  Size, line density, spine, upper and lower fins, vertical fin, number of tendrils
4. 04
  
  ### Colour and scales
  
  
  
  Palette, main and dark colour, solid or gradient, five scale types
5. 05
  
  ### World
  
  
  
  One of three backgrounds, void, nebula or deep sea, plus drifting dust
6. 06
  
  ### Chord set
  
  
  
  One of eight, deciding the key it lives in



Eight genome cards8



![Soul Fish #348: Purple and deep pink, large, with spine, no scales, chord set D7-2](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/c4a49bce-loop-01-poster.webp)



#348SoulFish



hash` opKSNcvh91GpRGzZewygNkNHdGEYL7WfJFti6knu7eR1QVCP3uC `



purpledeeppink



palette



colourful**87%



background



void**81%



size



large**7%



colouring



gradient**34%



colour



purple**<1%



dark colour



deeppink**<1%



tendrils



0**19%



line density



30**14%



fins



yes**70%



scales



none**20%



vertical fin



yes**51%



chord set



D7-2**11%



spine



yes**35%



upper and lower fins



yes**88%



upper fin



12**14%



lower fin



20**11%



#FISH ECHO [D7-2]Notes: D4 F#5 A6 C#7 D5 F#5 A5 C#5*· 3 rests*Bass: D4 F#4 A4



minted 2023-01-09[Open this one live ↗](https://soulfish.art.cheyuwu.com/fxhash/?fxhash=opKSNcvh91GpRGzZewygNkNHdGEYL7WfJFti6knu7eR1QVCP3uC)[In the database →](https://cheyuwu.com/nft/soulfish/?n=348)



![Soul Fish #304: Dark gold and khaki, tiny, with spine, strip scales, chord set A-1](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/41eab3aa-loop-02-poster.webp)



#304SoulFish



hash` ooAY3gkPtSTKh1Bfw7CAYbpMUJNVcai1Ur6uJFW8qrHpqrxnYxa `



darkgoldenrodkhaki



palette



colourful**87%



background



void**81%



size



tiny**8%



colouring



gradient**34%



colour



darkgoldenrod**1%



dark colour



khaki**6%



tendrils



2**20%



line density



30**14%



fins



yes**70%



scales



strip**20%



vertical fin



yes**51%



chord set



A-1**12%



spine



yes**35%



upper and lower fins



yes**88%



upper fin



10**11%



lower fin



6**25%



#FISH ECHO [A-1]Notes: A4 B4 C#5 D5 E5 F#5 G#5 A6*· 4 rests*Bass: A4 C#4 E4 D4



minted 2022-07-01[Open this one live ↗](https://soulfish.art.cheyuwu.com/fxhash/?fxhash=ooAY3gkPtSTKh1Bfw7CAYbpMUJNVcai1Ur6uJFW8qrHpqrxnYxa)[In the database →](https://cheyuwu.com/nft/soulfish/?n=304)



![Soul Fish #49: Azure and white, large, arrow scales, four tendrils, chord set D7-1](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/914cada7-loop-03-poster.webp)



#49SoulFish



hash` oo7C1R3bLDNUAsxBTtMvvEQ77ra8baxkZZdognkyZbfwpbUrJdt `



azurewhite



palette



colourful**87%



background



void**81%



size



large**7%



colouring



solid**67%



colour



azure**<1%



dark colour



white**11%



tendrils



4**22%



line density



20**13%



fins



no**30%



scales



arrow**20%



vertical fin



yes**51%



chord set



D7-1**12%



spine



no**65%



upper and lower fins



yes**88%



upper fin



6**26%



lower fin



14**14%



#FISH ECHO [D7-1]Notes: D6 F#6 A6 C#7 D7 F#7 A7*· 4 rests*Bass: D4 A4 G4 F#4



minted 2022-06-30[Open this one live ↗](https://soulfish.art.cheyuwu.com/fxhash/?fxhash=oo7C1R3bLDNUAsxBTtMvvEQ77ra8baxkZZdognkyZbfwpbUrJdt)[In the database →](https://cheyuwu.com/nft/soulfish/?n=49)



![Soul Fish #283: Maroon and sienna, dot scales, vertical fin, chord set Bm-1](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/d9d0326a-loop-04-poster.webp)



#283SoulFish



hash` ooDDmJpGKVYGXMaC7mEfK2WTpXkCa6No2xsGRFgBkysruYKBzgh `



maroonsienna



palette



colourful**87%



background



void**81%



size



normal**86%



colouring



gradient**34%



colour



maroon**<1%



dark colour



sienna**<1%



tendrils



4**22%



line density



45**13%



fins



yes**70%



scales



dot**20%



vertical fin



yes**51%



chord set



Bm-1**15%



spine



no**65%



upper and lower fins



no**12%



upper fin



8**25%



lower fin



6**25%



#FISH ECHO [Bm-1]Notes: B3 C#4 D4 F#4 A4*· 2 rests*Bass: B2 F#2 G2 D2



minted 2022-07-01[Open this one live ↗](https://soulfish.art.cheyuwu.com/fxhash/?fxhash=ooDDmJpGKVYGXMaC7mEfK2WTpXkCa6No2xsGRFgBkysruYKBzgh)[In the database →](https://cheyuwu.com/nft/soulfish/?n=283)



![Soul Fish #235: Gainsboro and snow, fan scales, the thickest body, chord set C7-1](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/a3ead04b-loop-05-poster.webp)



#235SoulFish



hash` op6WgLehcUnLvHtsioGhtX3dE8ZQ4DvSY68118oS6oQg2QMFGkH `



gainsborosnow



palette



colourful**87%



background



void**81%



size



normal**86%



colouring



gradient**34%



colour



gainsboro**<1%



dark colour



snow**<1%



tendrils



2**20%



line density



50**14%



fins



yes**70%



scales



fan**21%



vertical fin



yes**51%



chord set



C7-1**14%



spine



no**65%



upper and lower fins



yes**88%



upper fin



6**26%



lower fin



14**14%



#FISH ECHO [C7-1]Notes: E6 G6 A6 C7 D7 E7*· 4 rests*Bass: C4 E4 G3 B3



minted 2022-06-30[Open this one live ↗](https://soulfish.art.cheyuwu.com/fxhash/?fxhash=op6WgLehcUnLvHtsioGhtX3dE8ZQ4DvSY68118oS6oQg2QMFGkH)[In the database →](https://cheyuwu.com/nft/soulfish/?n=235)



![Soul Fish #202: Lawn green and pale green, with spine, six tendrils, the thinnest lines, chord set Dm-1](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/71dd9ea3-loop-06-poster.webp)



#202SoulFish



hash` ooZ8XMexCUYiRgwC9fVwGtiTnmQf3JPqnzX3hoagB5iNbuFos4j `



lawngreenpalegreen



palette



colourful**87%



background



void**81%



size



normal**86%



colouring



gradient**34%



colour



lawngreen**<1%



dark colour



palegreen**4%



tendrils



6**20%



line density



10**17%



fins



yes**70%



scales



none**20%



vertical fin



no**50%



chord set



Dm-1**11%



spine



yes**35%



upper and lower fins



yes**88%



upper fin



6**26%



lower fin



8**29%



#FISH ECHO [Dm-1]Notes: D6 F6 A6*· 3 rests*Bass: D4 F4 A4



minted 2022-06-30[Open this one live ↗](https://soulfish.art.cheyuwu.com/fxhash/?fxhash=ooZ8XMexCUYiRgwC9fVwGtiTnmQf3JPqnzX3hoagB5iNbuFos4j)[In the database →](https://cheyuwu.com/nft/soulfish/?n=202)



![Soul Fish #291: Gold and khaki, no scales, no vertical fin, chord set Am-1](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/6e671b1f-loop-07-poster.webp)



#291SoulFish



hash` opVyBA2RYCqPBoSd2h3eFMxtrkRonkUxsEcRyZeHDWg3MGchrZR `



goldkhaki



palette



colourful**87%



background



void**81%



size



normal**86%



colouring



gradient**34%



colour



gold**<1%



dark colour



khaki**6%



tendrils



2**20%



line density



15**14%



fins



yes**70%



scales



none**20%



vertical fin



no**50%



chord set



Am-1**13%



spine



no**65%



upper and lower fins



yes**88%



upper fin



6**26%



lower fin



8**29%



#FISH ECHO [Am-1]Notes: C6 D6 E6 G6 B6 C7 G7*· 4 rests*Bass: A4 A4 G4 F4



minted 2022-07-01[Open this one live ↗](https://soulfish.art.cheyuwu.com/fxhash/?fxhash=opVyBA2RYCqPBoSd2h3eFMxtrkRonkUxsEcRyZeHDWg3MGchrZR)[In the database →](https://cheyuwu.com/nft/soulfish/?n=291)



![Soul Fish #262: Dark sea green and pale green, arrow scales, chord set Gm-1](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/c25d0be1-loop-08-poster.webp)



#262SoulFish



hash` oodkaRrAq1k8UXYM5Eg5QD8YsxFfxo6ZLzNU8q88aSbpwDBCjEn `



darkseagreenpalegreen



palette



colourful**87%



background



void**81%



size



normal**86%



colouring



solid**67%



colour



darkseagreen**<1%



dark colour



palegreen**4%



tendrils



2**20%



line density



30**14%



fins



yes**70%



scales



arrow**20%



vertical fin



no**50%



chord set



Gm-1**13%



spine



no**65%



upper and lower fins



yes**88%



upper fin



12**14%



lower fin



14**14%



#FISH ECHO [Gm-1]Notes: G4 A4 Bb4 D5 G5 Bb6 D6 Eb5*· 2 rests*Bass: G4 Bb4 D4 G4



minted 2022-07-01[Open this one live ↗](https://soulfish.art.cheyuwu.com/fxhash/?fxhash=oodkaRrAq1k8UXYM5Eg5QD8YsxFfxo6ZLzNU8q88aSbpwDBCjEn)[In the database →](https://cheyuwu.com/nft/soulfish/?n=262)



Each card is a field-guide entry for one fish: the hash assigned on chain at mint, the barcode from the work's own frame (the larger the digit, the thicker the bar), the sixteen traits with their rarity among the 400, and the chord set this fish keeps for life, as read out by #FISH ECHO. Press Open this one live and the same hash grows the same fish again in the 2022 generator; all four hundred are kept in the editions database, filterable by trait.



## How the genes are distributed across the 400 fish



| Gene | Values | Distribution across 400 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Palette | colourful, black and white, pure white | 347, 30, 23 |
| Background | void, nebula, deep sea | 325, 40, 35 |
| Size | normal, tiny, large | 342, 32, 26 |
| Colouring | solid, gradient | 266, 134 |
| Scales | fan, dot, strip, arrow, none | 85, 79, 79, 79, 78 |
| Vertical fin | yes, no | 202, 198 |
| Spine | yes, no | 140, 260 |
| Tendrils | 0, 2, 4, 6, 10 | 75, 78, 89, 78, 80 |
| Chord set | Am-1, D7-1, C7-1, Dm-1, D7-2, Gm-1, Bm-1, A-1 | 51, 47, 56, 43, 44, 51, 61, 47 |



The figures come from a complete backup of the fxhash records made on 19 September 2026; since the platform ceased operating, this record and the hash of every fish are kept by us, edition by edition, in the database page on this site.



## Sound



In earlier works such as Sliderverse and Soul Sea the sound was synthesised with the Web Audio API; with Soul Fish I placed a set of real piano samples inside the work for the first time, and the moment the work starts running it decides its chord progression and melodic line. Because the music is generated live, every fish has a melody of its own, a higher melodic line woven over a lower accompaniment, and each fish is a melody automaton composing its own tune.



It works like a loom, except that what it weaves is notes rather than cloth; when the fish swims faster the whole piece quickens, and the instant a bubble bursts, a single piano note falls an octave higher.



The melody automaton6


1. 01
  
  ### Piano samples
  
  
  
  Thirty real piano samples, one every minor third, packed inside the work
2. 02
  
  ### Chord set
  
  
  
  The genome picks one of eight sets: a row of melody notes and four bass notes
3. 03
  
  ### Bass
  
  
  
  One bass note per whole note, in rotation
4. 04
  
  ### Melody
  
  
  
  The melody notes are shuffled twice and joined; one step per eighth note, blanks are rests
5. 05
  
  ### Swimming speed
  
  
  
  Hold an arrow key to sprint and the tempo climbs from 50 to 200 bpm
6. 06
  
  ### Bubbles
  
  
  
  Pop one and a note sounds an octave up; the stars in the background flicker with the notes


Sound is synthesised live in the browser, mixed with a ten-second reverb.



Work film (with sound)32s



[video](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/fcb32de3-film.mp4)


Filmed in the empty room of The Great Equation; this is how the piano of the Soul Fish act sounds. Video: MONOLAB. It starts muted as it scrolls into view; press Sound on at the top right to listen.



## Sensing the colour of a soul



At the DIGI-FI festival in Yilan at the end of 2023, Soul Fish became an interactive installation for the first time. A vertical touchscreen stands on the right; rest your palm on the light and a glow slowly gathers around your hand and settles into a colour, while the screen reads that a soul fragment has been extracted and a fish is being generated. On the large screen and the projection to the left, the fish that was there dissolves into points of light, and a new fish in that colour slowly grows.



Visitors stood before the wall comparing: why is the fish blue, why is mine so flat, why is yours so large. The feeling is like drawing a fortune stick at a temple; having placed a hand on the light, a person believes that this fish belongs to them.



![The touch panel: rest your palm on the light](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/40276979-capture-1.webp)


1. Rest your palm on the light



![The touch panel: the glow gathers](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/b59ee17f-capture-2.webp)


2. The glow gathers around your hand and settles into a colour



![The touch panel: soul fragment extracted](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/3626ac5b-capture-3.webp)


3. Soul fragment extracted; generating your fish



On the wall: a fish of your own1



[video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/)


After the touch panel sends a colour, the fish on the wall dissolves into points of light over two and a half seconds, and four seconds later a new fish in that colour slowly grows.



![The Yilan festival room: Soul Fish on the big screen](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/b8b0c856-yilan-01.webp)


DIGI-FI Yilan, Zhongxing Cultural and Creative Park, December 2023. Organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Yilan County Government



### Venice



In 2024 the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Yilan County brought the interactive version to Venice, where it was shown in Personal Structures, organised by the European Cultural Centre during the Venice Art Biennale, in a ground-floor room of Palazzo Bembo: a projection wall 548 centimetres wide, a fully darkened room, a touchscreen on the right, and from April to November the fish swam there for seven months.



I love to show Soul Fish as a shoal, and one day I hope to build a virtual aquarium online, a glowing undersea world where people feel they are in the deep, seeing light in the dark.



The match between a colour and a person is largely random, yet people project their own consciousness onto it and go looking for their relationship with the work, the way one draws lots or casts divination blocks: belief shapes the connection, and once the connection holds it is real. A mother and her child point at two fish that are both green and ask how the system can be so accurate; while the work is being watched, it is shaping the people watching it.



![Palazzo Bembo, Venice: visitors before the projection wall](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/soulfish/51dcec81-venice-02.webp)


Personal Structures, Palazzo Bembo, Venice, April 2024. Commissioned by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Yilan County Government; produced by Blue Dragon Art Company



## Press



During the Yilan festival the interactive version was covered by ELLE Taiwan, Marie Claire Taiwan, Vogue Taiwan and the Central News Agency; in 2026 it appears again in episode 267 of BLTV's Art Metaverse and in a PTS Plus feature. Links are at the foot of the page.



Clippings and records14


- [**ELLE TAIWAN**DIGI-FI Yilan 2023: light and interactive art at Zhongxing Cultural Park2023-12-27](https://www.elle.com/tw/life/style/g46220181/)
- [**MARIE CLAIRE 美麗佳人**DIGI-FI Yilan 2023, Illusions of Light and Shadow: the highlights2023-12-22](https://www.marieclaire.com.tw/lifestyle/art/76782)
- [**VOGUE TAIWAN**DIGI-FI 2023, Illusions of Light and Shadow: a feature2023-12-21](https://www.vogue.com.tw/special/digi-fi-2023)
- [**中央社 CNA**DIGI-FI Yilan opens at Zhongxing Cultural and Creative Park2023-12-20](https://howlife.cna.com.tw/local/20231220S009.aspx)
- [**人間衛視《藝次元宇宙》**TelevisionEpisode 267: the poetry in data2026-01-13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK2PVtoRRLg)
- [**公視 PTS PLUS**FeatureWho is Che-Yu Wu, founder of Taiwan.md: ten artists breaking the frame2026](https://issues.ptsplus.tv/articles/12655/)
- [Our own writingCreation story: Soul Fish, a digital life that lasts2023-01-30creativecoding.in](https://creativecoding.in/2023/01/30/soul-fish-story/)
- [Our own writingThe making of: from one sine wave to the fxhash release2023-03-02creativecoding.in](https://creativecoding.in/2023/03/02/soul-fish-process/)
- [LivestreamLivestream: the story and making of Soul Fish (1 h 36 min)2022-08-03YouTube・哲宇寇汀吧](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvoK81U_9B0)
- [FilmWork film: Soul Fish2026-01-17YouTube・MONOLAB](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-wSVeq_yBU)
- [Release recordSoulFish #15625, the 400 editions2022-06-30fxhashThe platform has closed; the record of all four hundred is kept by us](https://cheyuwu.com/nft/soulfish/)
- [ExhibitionPersonal Structures 2024, Venice2024-04-20European Cultural Centre](https://personalstructures.com/personal-structures-art-venice-2024/)
- [ExhibitionThe official site of the 2023 festival2023-12-23DIGI-FI 宜蘭映像節](https://digi-fi.tw/)
- [Permanent homeThe permanent home of the work: the Venice and Yilan builds2026-08-31soulfish.art.cheyuwu.com](https://soulfish.art.cheyuwu.com/)


Clippings are the outside record, notes are our own articles and films, tags are the official pages of platforms and exhibitions; every one opens.



The Soul series3


1. 01
  
  ### SoulSea
  
  
  
  December 2021, fxhash #5438, 300 editions. An inner sea made of sine waves; the New York period
2. 02
  
  ### SoulFish
  
  
  
  June 2022, fxhash #15625, 400 editions. This page
3. 03
  
  ### The Soul of Flowers
  
  
  
  December 2023, fxhash #29643, 200 editions; minted live at Tezos @ South Beach, Miami, the same month


The three works share the same signature and the same way of layering colour; SoulSea synthesised its sound with Web Audio, and SoulFish was the first to bring a real piano in.



Grown from the daily practice: five Soul Fish sketches, spring 2022



This work grew out of the “1 Soul Fish” family: 5 daily sketches, 2022-03-31 to 2022-04-28. 4 of the links are forks; 1 are private, shown but not linked.



![220331 Soul Fish v5](https://kyoko.openprocessing.org/thumbnails/visualThumbnail1557933@2x.jpg)
private220331 Soul Fish v52022-04-28



![220331 Soul Fish v4](https://cheyuwu.com/static/img/mirror/adb69013ed55-sm.webp)
220331 Soul Fish v42022-04-24

[https://cheyuwu.com/sketch/1552958](https://cheyuwu.com/sketch/1552958)



![220331 Soul Fish v3](https://cheyuwu.com/static/img/mirror/77eef6c041db-sm.webp)
220331 Soul Fish v32022-04-18

[https://cheyuwu.com/sketch/1547584](https://cheyuwu.com/sketch/1547584)



![220331 Soul Fish v2](https://cheyuwu.com/static/img/mirror/3a09af88530e-sm.webp)
220331 Soul Fish v22022-03-31

[https://cheyuwu.com/sketch/1532040](https://cheyuwu.com/sketch/1532040)



![20220331 Soul Fish](https://cheyuwu.com/static/img/mirror/191aed533282-sm.webp)
20220331 Soul Fish2022-03-31

[https://cheyuwu.com/sketch/1531809](https://cheyuwu.com/sketch/1531809)



[See this family on the tree →](https://cheyuwu.com/lineage#f1531809)



## Credits



Concept, code and music system



Che-Yu Wu



Release



fxhash (Tezos), 30 June 2022, 400 editions



DIGI-FI Yilan 2023



Organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Yilan County Government; curated with Condé Nast Taiwan



Venice 2024



Personal Structures, organised by the European Cultural Centre; commissioned by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Yilan County Government; produced by Blue Dragon Art Company



Exhibition software and hardware



MONOLAB (dual-screen Electron kiosk, touch panel, socket-driven fish change)



Photography



Commissioned by MONOLAB (Chaos Laboratory, The Great Equation); shot by the team (Venice, Yilan)



Work film



MONOLAB



Logotype



The Soul fish logotype, in use since the 2023 Yilan interactive version



## Context & sources


- [Open a living Soul Fish (Venice build)](https://soulfish.art.cheyuwu.com/)
- [The Yilan interactive build](https://soulfish.art.cheyuwu.com/yilan/)
- [The 400 editions: every hash, trait and capture at mint →](https://cheyuwu.com/nft/soulfish/)
- [The 2022 fxhash generator, self-hosted](https://soulfish.art.cheyuwu.com/fxhash/)
- [Creation story on creativecoding.in (Chinese, 2023)](https://creativecoding.in/2023/01/30/soul-fish-story/)
- [Making-of notes from the livestream (Chinese, 2023)](https://creativecoding.in/2023/03/02/soul-fish-process/)
- [Livestream: the story and making of Soul Fish, August 2022 (YouTube, 1 h 36 min)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvoK81U_9B0)
- [Work film (YouTube, MONOLAB)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-wSVeq_yBU)
- [ELLE Taiwan: DIGI-FI Yilan 2023 (27 December 2023)](https://www.elle.com/tw/life/style/g46220181/)
- [Marie Claire Taiwan: DIGI-FI Yilan 2023 (22 December 2023)](https://www.marieclaire.com.tw/lifestyle/art/76782)
- [Vogue Taiwan: DIGI-FI 2023 feature (21 December 2023)](https://www.vogue.com.tw/special/digi-fi-2023)
- [Central News Agency: DIGI-FI Yilan opens (20 December 2023)](https://howlife.cna.com.tw/local/20231220S009.aspx)
- [BLTV Art Metaverse, episode 267 (January 2026)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK2PVtoRRLg)
- [Creative notes: Twelve rounds before the talk (Chinese original) →](https://cheyuwu.com/zh/dialogues/2026-09-02-designbiz-from-zero/#round-11)
- [Creative notes: Living texts and open-ended works (Chinese original) →](https://cheyuwu.com/zh/dialogues/2026-03-22-living-texts-and-open-ended-works/#section-db8b8d83fd)
- [Creative notes: Relationships create existence (Chinese original) →](https://cheyuwu.com/zh/dialogues/2026-04-05-stories-as-continuity/)
- [Source: monolab.world](https://monolab.world/zh/art/8/)
- [Source: monolab.world](https://monolab.world/en/art/9/)
- [DIGI-FI Yilan 2023: Illusions of Light and Shadow · 2023 →](https://cheyuwu.com/exhibitions/yilan-illusions-of-light-and-shadow)
- [Cheyu Wu Solo Exhibition | The Great Equation · 2023 →](https://cheyuwu.com/exhibitions/the-great-equation)
- [Chaos Lab · 2022 →](https://cheyuwu.com/exhibitions/chaos-lab)



Exhibitions, research & collaborations

[Contact the artist](https://cheyuwu.com/contact?work=Soul+Fish&from=/work/soulfish/)



## Continue through the work



![SoulSea](https://cheyuwu.com/static/img/soulsea/cover-2026-09.jpg)


2021



### SoulSea

[https://cheyuwu.com/work/soulsea](https://cheyuwu.com/work/soulsea)



![The Soul of Flowers](https://cheyuwu.com/static/img/soul-of-flowers/cover-2026-09.jpg)


2023



### The Soul of Flowers

[https://cheyuwu.com/work/soul-of-flowers](https://cheyuwu.com/work/soul-of-flowers)



![The Great Equation](https://cheyuwu.com/static/img/mirror/69ba45f52973.jpg)


2023



### The Great Equation

[https://cheyuwu.com/work/the-great-equation](https://cheyuwu.com/work/the-great-equation)



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