{"id":4812,"date":"2026-05-16T14:08:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T14:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/?page_id=4812"},"modified":"2026-05-16T14:09:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T14:09:24","slug":"bin-youn-and-patrick-hartono","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/index.php\/bin-youn-and-patrick-hartono\/","title":{"rendered":"Bin Youn and Patrick Hartono"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-0370fb77196585b54b7ef2b188502d95\">Sacred Tree: Summoning Gelora<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-eb39dc03180ccfc5c56c6d1f196b26fa wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>by Bin Youn and Patrick Hartono<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sacred Tree Summoning Gelora, 2026\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Urg8F59ddlc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-da9f0b5c6762657a8f0042fbc36111fa wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Sacred Tree: Summoning Gelora<\/em> is an interactive XR that reimagines the traditional Korean sacred tree as a shared sanctuary for people of all backgrounds. Inspired by <em>shinmok<\/em> (a living tree where villages gather to connect with the unseen) and <em>seonangdang<\/em> (the communal space for making offerings), this piece brings ancient rituals of connection into the modern world through the lens of a mobile phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-cef114c080461f6a23009902dbd6f74e wp-block-paragraph\">The heart of the project comes from a deeply personal experience of living as an alien in a foreign country. Walking down unfamiliar streets, the artist began collecting fallen flowers that were overlooked and disconnected from their roots, yet still held a quiet, vital energy. Resuscitated through empathetical scanning, each flower was brought back to life as a digital creature called <em>Gelora<\/em> (a blend of &#8220;gel&#8221; for preservation and &#8220;flora&#8221; for nature). These creatures gather around a central tree, guided by traditional East Asian beliefs that connect specific colors to the directions, seasons, and natural elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-dc78e14c2dfd2d0f6acd13758ace684a wp-block-paragraph\">To awaken a <em>Gelora<\/em>, participants must physically bend down and bring their phone close to hidden points near the ground. This simple, humble movement is not just a way to trigger the technology. It intentionally mirrors the artist&#8217;s own act of picking up a discarded flower. The act of bowing down is the ritual. As the digital creatures appear on the screen, the surrounding music responds. The sounds breathe and shift in time with the visitor&#8217;s movements, creating a deeply personal atmosphere that never plays the same way twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5238a64462d7982786089a163a3bda8e wp-block-paragraph\">When exhibited at the HOZO T\u1ebft City Festival in Ho Chi Minh City, the human connection was immediate. Without needing any instructions or translated signs, people naturally reached toward the earth. The creatures appeared, and a silent bond was formed. <em>Sacred Tree<\/em> shows that technology does not have to be cold or distant. Through a simple, shared physical gesture, we can build a profound bridge of empathy across different cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/sacredtree_2-1024x682.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4786\" srcset=\"https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/sacredtree_2-1024x682.png 1024w, https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/sacredtree_2-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/sacredtree_2-768x511.png 768w, https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/sacredtree_2.png 1537w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/index.php\/tell-me2026-exhibition\/\">&lt;&lt;&lt;Tell.Me Exhibition<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sacred Tree: Summoning Gelora by Bin Youn and Patrick Hartono Sacred Tree: Summoning Gelora is an interactive XR that reimagines the traditional Korean sacred tree as a shared sanctuary for people of all backgrounds. Inspired by shinmok (a living tree where villages gather to connect with the unseen) and seonangdang (the communal space for making&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/index.php\/bin-youn-and-patrick-hartono\/\" class=\"gdlr-info-font excerpt-read-more\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4812","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4812"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4818,"href":"https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4812\/revisions\/4818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/2026.tellme-symp.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}