Transhumanism

Project produced the “Transhumanism: The Prediction” Act for the Taipei Arts Festival in 2019 and unveiled it for the first time. This ongoing three-year project was co-created by magician Sean Chou

, director Yu Dian Chen, and visual art designer Wei Wang, in an attempt to explore genuine and extraordinary abilities in areas other than magic. Sean Chou develops a variety of superpowers through a series of training, body modification, development, awakening, and cyborg organism. This is intended to address significant topics such as humanity, society, and psychology, and to discover the true meaning of humanity in this world.

Transhumanism Shuriken

This deck of cards was designed specifically for the Transhumanism

Project. One specific part of the act, “sleight,”, was inspired by and depicted a random killing spree that occurred in Taiwan back in 2014. As a magician, Sean Chou

contemplated the possibility of playing cards being used as a destructive weapon if he were to encounter a similar incident, which inspired him to begin training in card throwing. In addition to performing magic and playing games, Sean strives to make playing cards an extension of his body and to explore the possibility of them becoming a weapon.

Words from designer Wei Wang

Since the beginning of the project, Transhumanism

had attempted to “deflesh” itself, leaving only the physical shell. Thus, we decided to start from scratch: typography, color coordination, suits, numbers, lines on the card back, and we even designed the court cards to exist in a formless style.

We began with the magic we know best—the space where reality and illusion merge. We pushed the concept of “zero” to its limits, weaving the Genesis Myth and meaningful astrological symbols into the totem design. Metallic ink creates a reflective effect, while black and silver foil adorns premium black cardstock, all finished with a braille embosser. There are countless details and codes for you to discover, or you could simply enjoy the texture of the vintage stock and the smooth, legendary finish that offers the perfect resilience for handling.

Printed in Taiwan by Hanson Chien Production Co

.