The Department of Species Services (DSS) at Gray Area Grand Theater is an immersive installation by Shihan Zhang with Mingyong Cheng, Han Zhang, Ziwei Liu, and Jiaye Leng. Set in the year 2035, the work imagines an AI-led organization that recruits human pollinators to replace declining bee populations. Visitors don a 3D-printed Pollination Glove that triggers haptic feedback and spatialized sound within a sculptural environment, while dual-channel projection juxtaposes a bee's perspective with a live camera feed. The work reframes AI as a technology of ecological care and reciprocity.
