James Ly

Today, I find myself wandering through the intricate labyrinth of relationships that bind technology, culture, environment, and humanity in an elaborate dance of speculative ecologies. As I merge technological detritus, discarded circuits and forgotten screens with the ethereal beauty of computational aesthetics, I realize I am not merely crafting landscapes; I am conjuring poetic yet unsettling realms that beckon deep reflection on our embeddedness within the vast tapestry of planetary entanglements. Each piece I create is a testament to the stories we tell about value, production, and reproduction, revealing technics as sacred instruments, vital for cultivating coexistence instead of perpetuating cycles of exploitation. In my mind, I envision the remnants of e-waste transformed into vibrant mosaics, artifacts of our consumer age that urge us to reconsider our relationship with materiality and sustainability. Photos from “Redreaming Technics: Sensing the world”A game world developed as a worlding project to create a map of post human speculation on the current zeitgeist #gameworld #climate #art #science #poetics #poeisis #coexistence #evolution #future #speculative #ecology #multipolar #tapestry #cartography #digitalart #advancetechnology

“Wherein lies the danger, grows also the saving power.” “We” are also ecosystems, who “emerge from a complex tangle of relationships only now becoming known.” Despite their enigmatic nature, mushrooms hold valuable insights into understanding ourselves and our planet. Much like the archetypes of the collective unconscious, mushrooms possess a dual nature, being both nourishing and deadly. “life is an entangled whole.” There is no centre of control; rather the whole control is dispersed and can emerge momentarily and organically, only to dissolve later and appear somewhere else, as needed. Notes on mycelium, psychę & coexistence #Biologicaldarkmatter #darkmatter #symbiosis #coexistence #fungi #sculpture Photo:Lab grown mycorrhizal part of the series "Redreaming Technics” 2020 - present

"Plastic remnants adrift like stars, Fragments of memory, scattered and far, In the vast expanse of the virtual night, Whispers of technology, lost from sight. Ghostly pixels weave a cosmic dance, Virtual dreams merge in a fleeting glance, Constellations of data, luminous and bright, A tapestry of what was, in history’s light.” #digitaldetritus #poetics #soul #plastic #constellation #zeigeist #crystals #sculptured #anthropocene #transformation #matter #organism #universe #evolution #art #ecology #coexistence #posthuman

These are serendipitous finds of stink bugs belonging to the family Pentatomidae around where I live in Cyberjaya. Land clearing for data centres might be a reason why we get these interesting visitors to our home. First specimen is Elasmostethus interstinctus, the birch shield bug, is a species of shield bug in the Acanthosomatidae family. Shield bugs are often called "stink bugs” because they excrete a foul smelling liquid that is used to deter predators. Second specimen is Carbula scutellata are true bugs belonging to the order Hemiptera. Like other stink bugs, they possess glands that produce a foul-smelling liquid, often described as smelling like cilantro, which they use as a defense mechanism. They are typically found in disturbed areas like wastelands and roadsides. #bugs #anthropocene #climate #urban #ecology #pest #malaysia #photography #insects #pentatomidae

Now on display at "EVOLVING MATTER” @egalleryfcm organised by @cca_mmu | Nov 11-28 @creativemmu . Spanning works made after the pandemic “Redreaming Technics” as a project or series, constitutes a methodological inquiry into human existence within a rapidly evolving planetary and technological landscape. Rooted in poetic practice, it aims to cultivate a situated, embodied awareness an evolved perception that can navigate the intricate systems of biological, technological, and spiritual knowledge shaping our collective future. By art as a heuristic modality, the series seeks to expand human understanding beyond conventional paradigms, fostering a multidimensional view of interconnected systems. Medium [Unity Game world + Bio cultures + Clay + Spray Paint + Generative AI + Audio Recording of Earth’s Magnetic field]. Regen: 3 Nov 10, 2025. #unity #worldbuilding #games #sculpture #postnatural #posthuman #postdigital #poetics #planetearth #imgination #conciousness #assemblage #selfreplication #artxtech #artxscience #speculativeevolution #coexistence #evolution #reality #anthropocene #philosophy #healing #spirit #history #archeology #jamesly #art #sensing #artisticresearch #organicgenesis

Evolving Matter is an exhibition about thinking through making, consisting of 20 artists, researchers, and designers selected from an open call. It spotlights process led art iteration, experiments, and visible labor over polished results. Sketches, tests, failures, and prototypes become primary works, revealing decisions, detours, and discoveries. Across media, practitioners show research in practice from material trials to algorithmic tuning and embodied tests. The gallery becomes a lab, where process is both discourse and display. Artists, Researchers, and Designers: Yap Sau Bin; Suzy Sulaiman; Roopesh Sitharan; Anis Haron; James Ly; Qusyairi; Rob Godman; Myra Myn; Bee Shayne x 3NINE Design; Cheryl Cheliah Tiruchelvam; Kampung Sungai Bumbung x Pulau Kampung Hempas x Awas Mawas; Anggun Priambodo; Bin Youn; Arron Teo; Amir Shahlan; Ammar Hazman; Mohd Khairi Ishar; Tully Arnot; Kaito Sukama; Noor Iskandar. #EvolvingMatter #OpenCall #ProcessArt #ArtAsResearch #WorkInProgress #Iteration #studiopractice #artscience #newmediaart #balaiseninegara #mmu #fcm #cca @kendymitot @awas_mawas @beccayeoh @williamkoong_ @creativemmu @egalleryfcm @qusyairi.zazili @amirshahlan @tullyarnot @weejiafoong @nazriruslifcm @fairuzsulaiman @iamnotyatora @arronteo.wtfish @burpcollective @cca_mmu @uniofherts @robgodman @hellomyrra @kaito_buruburu @nooriskandar @amirshahlan @sssuzysulaimannn @cca_mmu @cca_fcm @openlab_cca

October

August 2025 ♾️ Love+Life+Lab.

Energy flows in all directions, form, movement and composition. Rhythm brings order to chaos. #nature #art #ecology #science #sensuality #jamesly #zeigist #entanglements #archeology #language #history #ai #human #nonhuman #spirit #conciousness #evolution #coexistence #observation #experiment

Thank you @rmitvnscd @kokyoong for organising RegenX and inviting me as a panel speaker and fellow panel speakers Eddie Wong, Jeong Ok, Tully Arnot for their 🔥presentations please continue the great work you are doing 👏🏻🪷 #regeneration #research #conciousness #human #nonhuman #ai #colonialism #technology #grief #psyche #parasiticalresistance #philosophy #cosmotechnics #newmediaarts #generativeai #climate #symposium #evolution #spirituality #daimon #spirit #contemporaryart #anthropocène #climate #artist #curator #research #artsci #southeastasia #advance technologies #rmituniversity #hochiminhcity🇻🇳

In my practice, I invoke the ad hoc as a profound form of parasitical resistance—an act of subversion against the engineered, hegemonic forces that seek to colonize perception, discourse, and ultimately, consciousness itself. This approach recognizes that these dominant systems—entrenched within neoliberal architectures, technological infrastructures, and ideological narratives operate through superficial immediacy, targeting primal urges and surface-level effects to maintain control. By embracing spontaneous, impromptu methodologies rooted in the ad hoc, I reappropriate this superficiality, transforming fleeting effects into fertile sites for deeper reflection, collective awakening, and critical engagement. This parasitical stance involves a deliberate infiltration into the space of hegemonic narratives, akin to a living parasite adapting from within. Instead of outright rejection, this process involves a strategic and creative symbiosis transforming the very mechanisms of control into portals for alternative perception. Through the creation of hybrid objects and ephemeral spaces, I challenge conventional notions of linear timelines and fixed meanings, emphasizing fluidity, divergence, and emergence. These artifacts act as luminous portals interstitial spaces where time becomes a malleable substance, and perception blooms into luminous potentiality. They serve as sites of resistance that trap and refract time, revealing the porous boundaries between past, present, and future, as well as between individual and collective consciousness. #drawing #redreaming #history #petrifiedwood #human #ai #singularity #earth #healing #posthuman #anthopocene #notes #art #contemporaryart #data #poetics #jamesly #resistance #artsci #nonhuman #ecology #spirit #consciousness #revolution #parasite #lifeonearth #ancestors #memory #coevolution #coexistence

We are excited to announce that we launched a unique series of artworks on the @xverso.io platform. "Ocean Dusk" created with @touchdesigner manifests as a poetic visual language, capturing systemic interactions through emergent patterns. It depicts the rhythmic dance of shadows, light, and silence, weaving together in harmony. These series of 7 artworks visually poetizes the interconnected flows, sustaining an ecological and spiritual coherence at twilight’s edge. Text by @jamesly_tk