Sorn-Lai is a public interactive game experience that tasks participants with exploring the First Forest. Audience use their phones to scan NFC data tags attached to the scape’s characters and dioramas - uncovering details about the world along the way.
The exhibition features a series of 7 large tabletop dioramas showcasing different environments around the first forest and over 50 character inhabitants of Sorn-Lai, all interwoven in an intricate web of narrative and ecology.
Ruins of Tech-Lai
In recent past Tech-Lai, the pinnacle of Sorn-Lai’s automated achievement, held control over the system’s macro-ecologies. As the Saturophage virus permeated through the forest, evolution rapidly accelerated - pushing the eco-capitalist regime to the brink. Despite advanced algorithmic systems, the radical complexity expanded beyond their flexibility limits triggering a societal collapse. With the gradual fall of the elitist empire, a number of algorithms and entities escaped to alternate abodes within the forest- seeking to return to power and dominance.
Structures, morphologies, and even the foundational land of Tech-Lai are all algorithmically generated.
Heart of the Forest
Rapid changes have emphasized cracks in the forest network- the forest’s heart, now ‘bleeding’, has entered a state of dormancy. For eons this sacred grove was protected by the Echowalkers, but they were unable to protect it from the virulent spread of the Saturophage. As the heart’s infection became overwhelmingly clear, the Echowalkers abandoned their guard- leaving it in the charge of lower lifeforms.
As the forest’s heart has mutated, so have its inhabitants. Once internally full of vibrancy - the forest now can only receive color from external sources // once thought immune, the moss of Sorn-Lai has already begun to change - hinting at larger shifts on the horizon.
The Tribal Court
Ensconced within a verdant clearing, The Tribal Court stands as a beacon of diversity and is the seat of power within Sorn-Lai. This arena is not just a physical space but a crucible where the political, social, and ecological ideologies of various species and tribes converge, debate, and coexist.
The diversity present in the Tribal Court extends beyond the flora that frames the clearing, reaching deep into the very fabric of its participants. Here, representatives of Sorn-Lai's myriad species gather: from the humanoid to the wholly other, each being brings its unique perspective, shaped by its evolutionary heritage and ecological niche. This gathering is a vivid tapestry of life, where all those disenfranchised by the larger systemic forces voice their concerns.
Mines of Taun
Within the vast canyon Taun, a stark testament to the convergence of technology and manual labor unfolds. This diorama, crafted with precise cubic geometries, not only mirrors the meticulous excavation of the land but also unveils the complex relationship between automation and the human workforce that drives the heart of Sorn-Lai’s mining operations and the higher social classes of the forest.
The canyon, with its methodically carved terraces and shafts, is a landscape transformed by the relentless pursuit of progress, where the efficiency of machines and the enduring spirit of laborers intersect. Here, amidst the echoing sounds of advanced machinery, a poignant narrative on the value of labor in the age of automation comes to life. The phrase "flesh is cheaper than steel" reverberates through the mines, highlighting a harsh economic calculus that prioritizes short-term gains over the well-being of the workforce.
Cos Fringes
Near Grey Hollow Village, the origin point of the color consuming virus, life intermingles. Infected by the Saturophage very near the beginning, the intricate hybridization of genetic accelerationism is in full bloom in the Cos Fringes. Skeletons of mighty structures dominate the land, becoming shelter and sustenance for the local inhabitants. Though not the seat of power, many influential beings claim the fringes as their home - an important crossroads for the forest.
Ecologically this region serves as a buffer zone, a place where the ancient traditions of the forest dwellers meet the innovations of the more technologically advanced societies. Rituals and ceremonies conducted in the fringes often symbolize the harmony and conflict between these two worlds.
Cos Deeps
A last bastion of verdancy, the deep forests are now home to the ancient beings. Vestiges of times long past, the beings lurking here are the evolutionary roots of contemporary Sorn-Lai. High in biologics- the technologically derived find survival here difficult, heralding from an alternate evolutionary lineage.
The forest deeps mirror the evolutions of the deep ocean- with extreme conditions come extreme alterations and adaptations.
Kin-Salna Cliffsides
Long ago Kin-Salna was a gigantic geoengineering machine, bred to manipulate the atmospheric conditions of the forest proper. As conditions became more extreme, the living entity failed its charge and was left to ruin.
Representing a fringe case of the region, the cliffside dwellings of Kin-Salna have become refuge to a number of tribes and species over the last decade. Though anthropic species have dwelt in the caves for thousands of years, it hasn’t been until recent turbulences that higher species return to this primitive survival strategy.
Though much of the land is living, it is believed whole-hartedly that the cliffs are a living entity unto itself - possibly even a partial remnant of Kin-Salna itself.
