increasingly unclear

F0lded 1n
in collaboation with Anna Drupka, 2022

3 x 2.4m, Architectural felt, custom embroidery, generative four-channel audio, lights, speakers, custom electronics.

Exhibited at NDSM Fuse, Amsterdam Oct 2022 - Mar 2023

F0lded 1n is a nomadic, ritual space for contemplating AI and spirituality through sound and symbolism. We leave it to each viewer whether it is a space for protection from, or worship of, AI. We aim to prompt discussions about spirituality by mixing traditional and contemporary symbolism and spatial sound, to create an immersive, experiential space.



Drawings, made by me with input from AI, were custom embroidered by specialist craft artists.

F0lded 1n
in collaboration with Anna Drupka, 2022

3 x 2.4m, Architectural felt, custom embroidery, generative four-channel audio, lights, speakers, custom electronics.

Exhibited at NDSM Fuse, Amsterdam Oct 2022 - Mar 2023

F0lded 1n is a nomadic, ritual space for contemplating AI and spirituality through sound and symbolism. We leave it to each viewer whether it is a space for protection from, or worship of, AI. We aim to prompt discussions about spirituality by mixing traditional and contemporary symbolism and spatial sound, to create an immersive, experiential space.



Drawings, made with input from AI, were custom embroidered by specialist craft artists.

'Fire' drawn by me, embroidered by Agata Sernecka

 

'Earth' drawn by me, embroidered by Halina Subzda

 

'Air' drawn by me, embroidered by Julie Szot and Olga Budzan

 

'Water' drawn by me, embroidered by Joanne Bozek

 

An additional element, 'Spirit' (embroidered by Irena Szepiczak) is attached to the exterior. The structure was built by Anna Drupka, from my drawing.

 

I wrote a poem, which is read by Anna Drupka. The lines are randomly mixed with other sounds, in a four-channel soundscape. For this I programmed two Arduino microcontrollers, each driving two speakers and a subwoofer via a small amplifier (code is here). Above is a one-minute stereo mix, as a pre-recorded sample.

I wrote a poem, which is read by Anna Drupka. The lines are randomly mixed with other sounds, in a four-channel soundscape. For this I programmed two Arduino microcontrollers, each driving two speakers and a subwoofer via a small amplifier (code is here). Above is a one-minute stereo mix, as a pre-recorded sample.

 

Here is the full text of the poem:

Heliocentric,
The half-remembered song.
Head in the cloud,
The half-remembered dream.

In Hertzian space,
Waves and radiation
modulate into signals.
Two way adaptation,
Total internal reflection.

Capture the planet 
in computational form.
Extraction and logistics,
Military logics,
Human resources,
States and subjects.

Hyper-dimensional geometries,
Smoothly machined,
Counting the stars - 
Discrete state machines.

A convenient fiction,
Inference from statistics.
Intelligence is a departure 
from the completely disciplined.

As vast as reality
Processes not properties
Shadow deep learning
In roots and branches.

Primordial origins
Formed from the earth
Stones are our ancestors, 
Speaking through people.

Electrical spark
A divine single force
Power & ground
Sand to silicon

Participant observer,
Alien ethnographer,
Folded inside
Patterns of culture.

Under the covers,
Deep in your feed,
Invisible hand,
entangled alliances.

Always becoming,
Never arriving.
De-focus your eyes
Black, gold & grey

The machinic image -
Not science but craft,
Indexicality,
Ineffable complexity.

What happens when all 
our knowledge becomes data?
AI is our reader, observer and learner,
Decoding not coding 
The Library of Babel.

Mechanism, organism
singularity, multiplicity
Proprietary algorithm
As literary philosophy.

Partial, located, embodied,
Politics by other means.
Idea, infrastructure, industry.
Training to become less human.

Multi-agent systems,
Not all are created equal.
Errors in the initial conditions 
have important ramifications .

Ground truth
Minerals
The inner eye
In the landscape of time.

Can it have humility?
Can it doubt itself?
Can it feel pleasure or grief?
Like a thunderstorm or a galaxy.

Surprise and randomness
In flux we trust
Qualities and quantities
Legitimate interest.

Standardised notation  
randomised floatation
generalised frustration 
Floating point operation.

Is your head in the screen
Or a half dream of dawn?
Trying to go back
Fuzzy human
Inside out.
 

Here is a brief video documentation of the installation.

Here is a brief video documentation of the installation.