Comprising three separate but interconnected parts, Monad is an inquiry into the dynamics between subject and object, and the potential for using technology to transform our relations with the “other”. The work is inspired by the German philosopher G. W. Leibniz’s text Monadology (1714), which proposes that the universe is composed of an infinite number of simple substances, or “monads”, each of which is perfect and self-sufficient. As an immigrant artist who both engages in solitary performance in public space and organizes interactive events for seemingly disparate communities, Lin identifies deeply with the idea of the monad as a self-contained being that generates its own cosmos.

In The Third 1/3 Monad, Lin uses virtual reality software to simulate a series of basic basketball movements. But instead of having viewers experience the athletic mastery of the player, modeled on 

Chinese American NBA star Jeremy Lin,