[← Back to work](https://cheyuwu.com/work/) Installation2026 # Cymatics of Life [video](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/9e7fd5d7-hero.mp4) Act 1 of the timed performance, collect: drops falling, ripples gathering inward (the 4156 × 1200 px output, engine render)Silent loop. On site the central zone and sound are by Whitelight Motion and Audio Textural. Exhibition year 2026 Type Installation Artist Che-Yu Wu 吳哲宇 Exhibition Taiwan Design Expo 2026 in Taoyuan Zone A10 Life Around Water, Department of Water Resources, Taoyuan City Government Dates 24 September – 11 October 2026 Venue Messe Taoyuan Curved wall Projection, 12.12 × 3.5 m, 4156 × 1200 px System three.js, real-time GPU wave simulation (Faraday forcing) with physically based optics Participation Five questions by QR code; the mandala appears on the phone and the wall together Timed performance One minute every half hour, in four acts Credited as MONOLAB, Che-Yu Wu Contents & work details Exhibition year 2026 Type Installation Artist Che-Yu Wu 吳哲宇 Exhibition Taiwan Design Expo 2026 in Taoyuan Zone A10 Life Around Water, Department of Water Resources, Taoyuan City Government Dates 24 September – 11 October 2026 Venue Messe Taoyuan Curved wall Projection, 12.12 × 3.5 m, 4156 × 1200 px System three.js, real-time GPU wave simulation (Faraday forcing) with physically based optics Participation Five questions by QR code; the mandala appears on the phone and the wall together Timed performance One minute every half hour, in four acts Credited as MONOLAB, Che-Yu Wu Overview Cymatics makes vibration visible. This twelve-metre wall of water is driven by the answers of its visitors: each response becomes a frequency of one’s own, entrusted to the water, which reveals a Water Ripple Mandala made for one person, on the phone and on the projection wall at the same time. In motion: low and high frequency2 [video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/) Rain falling in water-light, slowly opening into a full circle, gathered into a palmful. [video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/) Bubbles rising in lamplight, a thousand petals opening lightly, poured into a shower. Two waters, one equation. Low frequency on the left gathers into rings; high frequency on the right splits into a lattice. Captions are the sentence the engine writes for each water. ## Work and viewing Water has no fixed form, yet set in motion by different frequencies it reveals distinctive patterns. The wall is a dish of water computed in real time: a wave equation integrated on the GPU, driven the way a loudspeaker shakes a tray of water (Faraday forcing), then photographed with physically based optics of refracted caustics, soft-box reflections and absorption inside the water. Visitors scan the QR code beside the wall and answer five questions: how much water a day uses, which sound of water is most calming, the first image that water brings to mind, the first touch of water in the morning, and the one thing they most want to do for water after leaving. Each answer moves one axis of the water, volume, texture, colour, detail and boundary, and together they become a frequency of one’s own. The Water Ripple Mandala appears first on the phone, then flows onto the twelve-metre wall. Every half hour the wall runs one complete cycle: from the first vibration, light breaks on the surface, fish take shape and swim past, the view pulls back into a whole sea being drawn along, folds into a vortex and fades to black and white. At the moment only black and white remain, light is taken apart, and the colours of the whole world rise again out of the smallest dispersion. Four textures, four lighting rigs4 ![Rain, white-light prism](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/7d220d22-render-rain.webp) Rain, white-light prism. Rain falling in white light, opening gently into a circle, poured into a shower. ![Waves, aurora green](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/1f4b0020-render-wave.webp) Waves, aurora green. Waves rising in night-light, opening layer by layer into loops, poured into a shower. ![Stream, black-and-white studio](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/8144735f-render-stream.webp) Stream, black-and-white studio. A stream running in white light, opening layer by layer into loops, pooled into depth. ![Bubbles, tungsten against blue](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/46cba650-render-bubble.webp) Bubbles, tungsten against blue. Bubbles rising in lamplight, opening gently and lightly, pooled into depth. ## Cymatics: frequency decides the shape Cymatics is the physics that makes sound visible. In 1787 the German physicist Ernst Chladni drew a bow across a metal plate sprinkled with sand, and the grains arranged themselves into symmetrical, precise geometry. In 1967 the Swiss scientist Hans Jenny named the phenomenon and, sweeping an oscillator through frequencies, watched the figures on one medium grow into new forms one after another. The lower the frequency, the simpler the figure, gathering into rings and crosses; the higher it goes, the finer the pattern splits, approaching a mandala-like lattice. Vibration decides the shape, and the shape remembers the vibration. Sound is vibration. When it enters a dish of water, the water answers with the few ways it can move with the least effort; what those ways look like in space is the figure we see. This work replaces sound with people as the source of the driving, and lets the whole wall become the vibrating body itself. ![One water at four driving frequencies](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/5cf63301-ladder.webp) One water driven at 2.2, 3.0, 3.8 and 4.6 from left to right: rings, cells, rings over lattice, dense mesh. The higher the frequency, the finer the figure. ![The standing wave at 4, 10 and 20 seconds](https://cheyuwu.com/static/img/cymatics-of-life/standing-wave-settle.webp) How the standing wave grows: three waters at 4, 10 and 20 seconds (left to right). The drops arrive first; the figure takes a dozen seconds to settle. ## Five questions, five axes Q1 How much water does your day use? A one bottle of mineral water · B about one shower · C enough to fill a bathtub · D more than I can count — sets the volume: depth, light and absorption of the water. Q2 Which sound of water calms you most? A soft rain outside the window · B waves breaking on the shore · C a stream running through a forest · D bubbles in a kettle about to boil — sets the texture: four ways of stirring water, raindrops, waves meeting head-on, a many-centred stream, bubbles rising at random. Q3 When you think of water, what image comes first? A the river or sea near home · B a downpour you have long remembered · C the most ordinary moment in a kitchen or bathroom · D a glass of water someone hands you — sets the colour: four lighting rigs, cold blue, deep sea, black-and-white studio, violet night with a warm edge. Q4 When you wake, what is your first touch of water? A brushing teeth, washing the face · B the first glass of water · C making coffee or tea · D straight into the shower — sets the detail: surface tension and the density of the pattern, from plain to intricate. Q5 After you leave the exhibition, what would you most like to do for water? A turn off the tap, treasure every second · B give water another life by reusing it · C eat lighter, with fewer high-water-footprint foods · D not decided yet, just take this feeling home — sets the boundary: waves that stay close, or travel out into the world. Three screens on the phone3 ![Phone start screen: Cymatics of Life, make your own Water Ripple Mandala](https://cheyuwu.com/static/img/cymatics-of-life/phone-intro.webp) After the scan: touch the water first, then begin. ![Question 1: how much water does your day use?](https://cheyuwu.com/static/img/cymatics-of-life/phone-q1.webp) Five questions with four choices each; the name you leave appears on your water. ![Revealed: your Water Ripple Mandala and its number](https://cheyuwu.com/static/img/cymatics-of-life/phone-result.webp) Revealed: a number of its own, one sentence, then the queue for the wall and a clip to take home. Everyone’s water6 [video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/) Waves rising in water-light, slowly opening into a circle, gathered into a palmful. [video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/) A stream running in white light, opening gently into a full circle, gathered into a palmful. [video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/) Waves rising in night-light, ten thousand petals opening without edge, spread into vastness. [video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/) A stream running in lamplight, opening layer by layer without bound, pooled into depth. [video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/) A stream running in night-light, ten thousand petals opening into a cycle, spread into vastness. [video](https://cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/) A stream flowing in warm light, opening layer by layer into loops, poured into a shower. Six waters, six sets of answers. The wall shows the newest one and rotates on a timer; seeing everyone at once happens in the gallery on the phone. The timed performance: collect, convey, turbid, purify (with sound) [video](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/aadebb59-performance-sound.mp4) The complete one-minute cycle in four acts, with the music heard on site: V5 “Taoshui”, delivered by Whitelight Motion on 2 September 2026; sound design by Audio Textural, Chia-Wei Hsu. Four acts, four stills4 ![Act 1, collect](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/8f9c44bf-act-1.webp) Act 1, collect (0–15 s): a close gaze, drops falling, ripples gathering inward. ![Act 2, convey](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/01a21d72-act-2.webp) Act 2, convey (15–31 s): the view pulls back, the sea surges to one side, iridescent fish take shape and pass. ![Act 3, turbid](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/4aec2ba1-act-3.webp) Act 3, turbid (31–46 s): two great vortices twist the surface, foam like gauze, the lights drift. ![Act 4, purify](https://media.cheyuwu.com/work/cymatics-of-life/96053947-act-4.webp) Act 4, purify (46–66 s): clear in a second, black-and-white water, the rainbow of dispersion and its glow, the wave centre drawing close. > Water itself has no shape; shape comes from vibration. The same frequency unfolds in your hand and on the wall at once, one held in the palm, one twelve metres wide. Artist’s statement, 31 August 2026 ## Original work record Wall label text, 10 September 2026 version. MONOLAB, Che-Yu Wu Cymatics is a physical phenomenon that makes vibration visible. In 1787, German physicist Ernst Chladni drew a violin bow across a metal plate sprinkled with sand, causing the grains to gather into intricate, symmetrical geometric patterns. Water has no fixed form, yet when set in motion by different frequencies, it reveals distinctive patterns of ripples and waves. We encounter and use water every day, yet rarely pause to truly sense its presence. These waters, resonating collectively, connect the rhythms of our lives. We invite you to scan the QR code beside you and quietly recall the everyday moments you share with water. Each response will be translated into a unique frequency and entrusted to the water, allowing it to reveal a “Water Ripple Mandala” created just for you. Your mandala will appear on your phone and, at the same time, flow onto the 12-meter-wide projection wall before you. Listen closely. You may even hear the sound of water droplets passing through. ## Credits (as listed by the Taiwan Design Expo) Supervising organisation Taoyuan City Government Organiser Department of Water Resources, Taoyuan City Government Curatorial production, curator Plain Design, Jer-Yu Sheu Entrance installation curation Whitelight Motion, Rex Hon Entrance installation and curved-screen visual direction Whitelight Motion Curved-screen algorithmic art MONOLAB, Che-Yu Wu Entrance installation and curved-screen sound design Audio Textural, Chia-Wei Hsu Interactive media and multimedia integration 13 TECHART LED hardware and equipment FARVISION ENG Audio equipment engineering Will Sung Spatial design Square2 Design Studio, Plain Design Photography and videography Wan-Ning Chen, Chia-Wei Lin, Victor Wu, Henry Jiang ## Context & sources - [On your phone: answer five questions and let the water reveal yours](https://cymatics.art.cheyuwu.com/survey/) - [Open a living water (a live, computed share page)](https://cymatics.art.cheyuwu.com/w?m=1,0,0,1,0&seed=1) - [Taiwan Design Expo 2026, zone A10 Life Around Water](https://designexpo.org.tw/designexpo/zh-TW/exhibition/12) Exhibitions, research & collaborations [Contact the artist](https://cheyuwu.com/contact?work=Cymatics+of+Life&from=/work/cymatics-of-life/) ## Continue through the work ![The Last Input](https://cheyuwu.com/static/img/the-last-input/09-performance-city.jpg) 2026 ### The Last Input [https://cheyuwu.com/work/the-last-input](https://cheyuwu.com/work/the-last-input) ![Unfinished Bloom](https://cheyuwu.com/static/img/unfinished-bloom-2026.jpg) 2026 ### Unfinished Bloom [https://cheyuwu.com/work/unfinished-bloom](https://cheyuwu.com/work/unfinished-bloom) ![The Eternal Garden in a Bottle](https://cheyuwu.com/static/img/covers/eternal-garden-in-a-bottle.webp) 2025 ### The Eternal Garden in a Bottle [https://cheyuwu.com/work/eternal-garden-in-a-bottle](https://cheyuwu.com/work/eternal-garden-in-a-bottle) 1 / 0