With the help of AI, researchers have discovered that bats possess a more intricate language than previously understood, complete with individual names, the ability to argue over food, and the capacity for vocal learning. What might a lullaby sound like to a baby bat? Could bat mating calls be reimagined as a love song? Inspired by Thomas Nagel’s philosophical question in “What Is it Like to Be a Bat?”, this project explores the profound mystery of understanding the lived experiences of other species. While we can decipher some aspects of bat behavior, the true depth of their communication remains tantalizingly out of reach.
“Nocturnal Fugue” invites you into an immersive bat world, where their social vocalizations are reinterpreted as evocative music, set against digital recreations of their natural habitats. Each digital environment evokes a distinct sense of scale and time, shaping a mood that mirrors the bat sounds you hear and feel. As these vocalizations morph into imaginative soundscapes, you are transported into the unique sonic realm of bats through spatial sound and immersive projections. During the live performance, we utilize a custom bat vocalization instrument built in Unreal Engine, enabling real-time playback and manipulation of bat calls as we fly through their habitats. Paired with the mixed reality experience “EchoVision,” participants can simulate bat echolocation. Wearing a custom-designed, bat-shaped MR mask based on HoloKit, participants shout into the void and witness their environment reverberate back.
Detailed Credits
Nocturnal Fugue
Directed by Jiabao Li & Matt McCorkle
Worldbuilding & Music Composition by Matt McCorkle
Executive Producer: Jiabao Li
Bat Expert Consultant: Merlin Tuttle
Producers: Jessica Kidd
Guitarists: Mark Sidney Johnson, Joe Daleki
Bat Vocalization Recordings by Yosef Prat, Mor Taub, Ester Pratt, Yossi Yovel
Prat, Yosef; Taub, Mor; Pratt, Ester; Yovel, Yossi (2017). An annotated dataset of Egyptian fruit bat vocalizations across varying contexts and during vocal ontogeny. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3666502.v2
EchoVision
Directed by Jiabao Li & Botao Amber Hu
Interaction Engineer: Botao Amber Hu
Interaction Designer: Jiabao Li
Visual Effect: Aaron Hu
Industrial Design of Head-Mounted AR Mask: Jianan Liu, Danning Huang
Special Thanks: Teresa Nichta, Michael Ryan, Janet Tyburec, Melissa Donnelly, Dianne Odegard, Lee Mackenzie, Austin Bat Refuge, Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation, Onassis ONX Studio, Fusebox Festival, The Contemporary Austin
About the Artists
Jiabao Li is an interdisciplinary artist, assistant professor at The University of Texas at Austin, founding director of Ecocentric Future Lab, and a Harvard graduate. She creates works addressing climate change, interspecies co-creation, humane technology, and perceptions. In Jiabao’s TED Talk, she uncovered how technology mediates the way we perceive reality. Jiabao is the recipient of numerous awards including Forbes China 30 Under 30 and the Outstanding Professor Award at MoMA. Her work has been exhibited internationally, at MoMA, Venice Architecture Biennale, Ars Electronica, Exploratorium, Today Art Museum Biennial, SIGGRAPH, Milan and Dubai Design Week, ISEA, and Museum of Design.
Matt McCorkle is an Emmy nominated artist working at the intersection of sound, art technology, the natural world and mental health. Using augmented audio, foley, forensic audio isolation, spatial audio processing, XR technologies, and game engines his work seeks to help people experience the world in new ways. McCorkle’s work has been shown at the American Museum of Natural History, Serpentine Galleries, Met Gala, Halle am Berghain Berlin, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Frost Museum of Science, Center of Science and Industry, Mystetskyi Arsenal Museum, Google Zeitgeist, LUMA Foundation, Sundance, Tribeca, SXSW, CPH:DOX, Sheffield DocFest, among others.
Botao Amber Hu is a researcher, designer, and creative technologist. He invented the HoloKit, an open-source mixed reality toolkit that turns your iPhone into an affordable optical see-through AR wearable. He founded and leads Reality Design Lab, an interdisciplinary research and design lab that focuses on the intersection of speculative design, spatial computing, and programmable cryptography. He also serves as a guest lecturer teaching “Mixed Reality Design” at the China Academy of Art. His primary focus is on developing intercorporeal interactions within co-located mixed reality, advancing democratized education of mixed reality design, and exploring blockchain as a substrate for artificial life.