‘Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive,’ marks Refik Anadol's inaugural institutional solo exhibition in the UK. Comprising a collection of new and recent works enveloping viewers in immersive environments crafted through extensive experimentation with visual data from coral reefs and rainforests. On view from February 16th to April 7th the exhibition features the installation of Living Archive within the expanding collection of The Large Nature Model. This model, the world's first open-source generative AI model focused on nature, has been trained on a comprehensive and ethically curated dataset sourced from the natural world.
A pioneer in the emergent arena of AI aesthetics, Andadol creates generative AI-driven works wherein data aesthetics traverse in real-time, endlessly producing new forms and immersing spectators within expansive installations.
The exhibition features Living Archive: Nature (2024), a new commission adapted for Serpentine North, first presented at the World Economic Forum 2024 in Davos, Switzerland. The installation covers the gallery walls with AI-generated images of flora, fungi, and fauna sourced from over 16 rainforest locations worldwide, including the Smithsonian Institution, CornellLab, National Geographic, and London’s Natural History Museum. This data was collected using advanced technologies like LiDAR and photogrammetry.
Artificial Realities: Coral (2023), an immersive auditory and visual journey, showcases the crucial significance of coral reefs within the marine ecosystem. In creating this artwork, Refik Anadol Studio utilized a distinct AI model trained on around 5 billion publicly available images of corals. By generating abstracted representations of coral, the AI generates fresh visuals and color schemes derived from the dataset. Presented as a multi-channel audio and visual experience, Artificial Realities: Coral beckons the audience to submerge themselves in a virtual underwater environment.
‘Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive,’ curated by Claude Adjil, produced by Brittany Stewart and Halime Özdemir, and presented by 10Fi with patronage by philanthropist Ryan Zurrer, marks the beginning of a year-long exploration into AI and art at Serpentine.
