Garden Of Forking Paths
Role
AI developer
Commisioned by
Studio TISH
Client
Helmholtz Research Center
Reinterpreting data
We generated XVIII century poetry…from scientific papers.
The installation explores perception, through a site-specific intervention that alters the physical, sensory and temporal experience of space and forces the viewer to slow down and think about their position inside the environment. The form of the installation resembles one of the most basic fractals, the ‘dragon curve’. We intentionally wanted to make it harder for the viewer to read – the installation must be observed from many sides thus calling into question the straight linearity which we have come to take for granted in everything from physics to fiction. The content of the installation are poems, not written by a human, but by a machine – inspired by Romantic poetry and scientific research of the Helmholtz Diabetes Center.
Exploring knowledge
Exploring the parameters of design and AI, the installation incorporates a deep learning algorithm. We asked ourselves what if we could train the algorithm to write poetry based on the scientific research papers produced at HDC? What kind of knowledge would that produce? What kind of a perspective shift? Poetry brings order to language, and machine-learning offers an approach without prejudice to explore the fringe thought – is there emotion in scientific research?
Between art and science
We see this work as blurring accepted boundaries between art and science, exploring the shapes of inter-subjectivity, and examining issues of power and authority. Designed to complement Helmholtz Center’s values of honesty, integrity, and ingenuity, the installation reflects notions of investigation, discovery, and innovation at the heart of the highly dynamic research environment: a place for innovation, open to start-up ideas and new enterprises, unprecedented in Europe. Ultimately, the Garden of Forking Paths is a reminder that the evolution of scientific thought is a non-linear, unpredictable and chaotic process that often emerges through the contribution of artists, musicians and philosophers, as well as scientists.
Tech Support Touchdesigner — Markus Heckmann
LED light software & support — Madmapper
Photography — Florian Holzherr
AI code development — Lucija Gregov & Darien Brito
Sculpture Fabrication & LED Technology — YADA Studio
Light & Technical Advisor — 507 Nanometer
Text Animation — Simon Alexander Adams