Everest Pipkin is a game developer, writer, and artist from central Texas who lives and works on a sheep farm in southern New Mexico. Their work both in the studio and in the garden follows themes of ecology, tool making, and collective care during collapse. When not at the computer in the heat of the day, you can find them in the hills spending time with their neighbours— both human and non-human.
Can you believe what you hear? When is a voice or sound authentic? This exhibition, curated by the Institute for Design Informatics, brings together exciting experimental artists including Martin Disley, Theodore Koterwas and Everest Pipkin, who are working with sound…
A new exhibition at Inspace Gallery bringing together international artists working with sound and emerging technologies to explore deep fake audio. Premiering as part of the 2023 Edinburgh Festivals, the exhibition is a collaboration between Inspace Gallery, the Institute of…
Theodore Koterwas is an artist working with data, physical phenomena and the human body to make things resonate. He seeks to draw critical attention to aspects of daily experience that often go unnoticed but profoundly impact on how we understand each other, technology and the environment.
Touch reveals the boundaries between us but it also connects us, enabling us to transcend our physical limits.
Working with dance and thermal imagery to explore our sense of touch, their moving image work generated from heat data reveals new insights into the expanded body, asking questions about the role of care in society.
Exhibition Supported by the Institute for Design Informatics, Arts Council England and Middlesex University.
Caroline Broadhead’s interdisciplinary practice explores objects that come into contact with and interact with the body. Her work is exhibited internationally and represented in many international collections, including V&A, Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Museum of Art and Design, New York and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. Her 2017 retrospective exhibition was shown in the Netherlands and the UK. She is Professor Emerita at Central Saint Martins, London.
Dance artist Angela Woodhouse’s work is essentially interdisciplinary and collaborative and has been shown widely over the last 30 years, most recently (Un)touched (2016-2020) and (de)figured (2017) in collaboration with artist Nathaniel Rackowe, exhibited in Belgrade, Oslo and Dubai respectively. Their latest work Expanded Landscapes was commissioned as part of Summer Lights Festival, Canary Wharf in 2022. In 2018 Angela was Artist in Residence at Siobhan Davies Studios as part of the MA/ MFA Creative Practice. She is currently senior lecturer in Dance at Middlesex University.
Angela and Caroline have collaborated on many works since 1997. These include site and installation projects that find synergies between materials, space, movement and audience. Venues include Sadler’s Wells, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Lightbox, Woking (in partnership with Tate Artist Rooms) and Royal Opera House. Historic buildings for which site works were commissioned include Wollaton Hall, Nottinghamshire, Witley Court, Worcestershire, and Upnor Castle, Rochester.
Exhibition Credits
Who Cares by Angela Woodhouse and Caroline Broadhead
Dancers Martina Conti and Alice Labant Producer Alexa Seligman Editor Dominique Rivoa With thanks to ICU nurses of Whittington Hospital, London and to Mikkel Svak for technical assistance.
Supported by the Institute for Design Informatics, Arts Council England and Middlesex University.
Ximulacra; a robot which scans analogue film photo negatives of mountain scenes and re-interprets them as dance!
The photos capture how mountain forms and their surroundings life shift from the Karakoram range in Pakistan to the Helan Mountains in China. As the analogue photos are abstracted into digital movement, this perception and embodiment driven piece seeks to explore the interaction between artificial and natural entities to generate novel digital-analogue hybrid scenes. Ximulacra experiments with how humans perceive visual data and how human-machine interaction can contribute to the poetic reading of photography.
Saturday, 18th to Sunday, 19th of Nov 2023 Open to view at Inspace Gallery from 10am to 5pm daily 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB
OPENING EVENT
Opening Reception and Artist Talk Friday, 17th Nov 2023 at Inspace Gallery from 6pm to 8pm (Doors Open 5:30pm) 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB
Join Inspace and the Institute for Design Informatics, for Ximulacra opening reception and event featuring artist talk by lead artist Shankar Saanthakumar. Hear about the exhibited work on show and gain insights into the concept behind this digital-analogue piece which explores human-machine interaction using an image processing algorithm.
Shankar Saanthakumar is an artist working across sculpture, paint, and computation to explore themes of perception and embodiment. He is particularly interested in how these themes relate to the feeling of mind-body (dis)connection in humans, and how exploring them in non-human systems can reveal insights into the human condition. For Ximulacra he contributed photography from the Karakoram range in Pakistan, and led the design of the robotic systems.
Shankar is also a regular performer at Wavetable, a monthly night of sonic experimentation in Edinburgh. There he fuses paintings and analogue photography with code to create digital-analogue hybrid-scene live coded visuals to compliment experimental electronic music.
Zhu Runzi is a photographer working from Shanghai and Paris, with a specialisation in capturing architecture and interior concepts within their contextual surroundings. The photos showcased in this exhibition were captured in the Helan Mountain, a geographical landmark significant to his hometown in Ningxia Province. This trip marked his first foray into the heart of Helan Mountain, rekindling cherished memories from 20 years of living in NingXia whilst also providing fresh insights into his self-identity. Through the photos he reconnected with the environment where he was raised, and tapped into formative unconscious memories which still influence his life today.
He obtained his Master’s degree in Architecture from the University of Manchester and his Bachelor’s from the University of Liverpool. During this time he discovered a profound passion for documenting cityscapes and street life through photography. This passion became the cornerstone of his career as an architectural photographer, leading to collaborations with numerous international publications and studios such as Domus and Foster + Partners.
Led by Zheng Da, the Low Tech Art Lab at Central China Normal University concentrates on the interdisciplinary relationships between art, science, and technology. In the lab, hardware engineers, creative coders, and sound artists work together to take a “low tech” approach to making games, light installations, and robotic systems. These seek to create playful human-machine interactions which question conventional relationships with technology. The members of the studio which collaborated on Ximulacra are Owen Chan, Jingyuan Lin, and Shuya Zhang. They led the development of the vision algorithm for Ximulacra and contributed to the robot design process.
Floa aka Sonam Gray is a Scottish sound artist based in Edinburgh. He has been immersed in creating electronic music throughout his life through a variety of formats and software and creates now mainly on modular synths as Floa. He attended both the University of the Arts and the School of Audio Engineering. His work past, has included studio recording, post production, Foley, location sound, and installation sound whilst in his residencies of London, New York and Los Angeles. He is also a founding member of the local collective ‘Wavetable’.
CREDITS
Led by Shankar Saanthakumar, in collaboration with Zhu Runzi and the Low Tech Art Lab who, respectively, helped to develop the photography and image processing algorithm elements of the project.
Supported by: This project is supported by the British Council Connections Through Culture Programme, the Tinderbox Collective, the Institute for Design Informatics and Inspace Gallery
A design exhibition held at the Information+ conference
Information xyz celebrates the most recent contributions of our global community of practitioners, artists, and researchers. As part of the Information+ biannual conference, we share in the sometimes subtle, often challenging, but always intentional process of shaping data into form. For this year’s exhibition program, we present a collection that speaks to the interconnectedness of technology, environment, and humanity.
This exhibition explored four main critical themes across the fourteen pieces.
Focusing on the unseen—“Borders, Bullets and Books” exposes the harsh realities of conflict on education in the Kashmir valley. “Mapping Diversity” uses the digital landscape to dissect the complexities of gender and diversity in Europe. The more abstract visualities of “Post_Networks” value the spaces between connections, pushing us to consider the hidden traces left by networks in the digital age. “Macromicroscope” brings the unseen into focus, drawing attention to the consequences of human actions on biodiversity and climate, and the “Island of Loneliness” brings to the forefront the silent epidemic of loneliness magnified by social media.
Challenging social norms—“Though a patriarchy would privilege the changelessness—of the sun—over the inconstancy of the moon and you” questions societal norms about menstrual cycles, while “From my terrace” reflects on the modern struggle for work-life balance.
Our environmental existence—Carla Fernández Arce’s data-driven installation on imported fruits urges a reflection on our food choices, while “Back to Square One” confronts the issue of fashion waste, and Chloe Prock’s exploration of worn textile trade provides a stark look at the realities of fast fashion sustainability. By reflecting on the environmental impacts of pollution, “Ripple Effect” translates the contamination of water into an audio-visual experience.
Questioning media-Lastly, two critical works question traditional media of data visualization. While “Shine through Mars” renders the Martian atmosphere comprehensible through light, “Data-distortion exercises” will lead you through a hands-on, critical approach to data visualization.
Together, these data-driven works urge you to ponder the delicate relationship between our digital existence and the physical world, questioning established norms, and highlighting the often overlooked or unseen aspects of contemporary life.
Fraunhofer MEVIS welcomes Edinburgh-based scientist, artist, and medic Fiona Smith to the residency program STEAM Imaging V – Holding the ‘Digital’ in Medicine to Account
We are delighted to share that the selected Creator in Residence with Fraunhofer MEVIS’ residency program STEAM Imaging V – Holding the ‘Digital’ in Medicine to Account, has been announced following our open call to University of Edinburgh PhD and postgraduate students earlier this year.
We are very excited to see how Fiona’s residency progresses and we look forward to supporting her through work with colleagues across the Institute for Design Informatics and our hosting of her exhibition and associated events at our Inspace gallery next year.
‘STEAM Imaging V – Holding the ‘Digital’ in Medicine to Account;’ is an exciting residency hosted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVIS in Bremen, Germany, in collaboration with the Institute for Design Informatics, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, the International Fraunhofer Talent School Bremen, and the School Center Walle, Bremen, Germany, supported by Ars Electronica, Linz, Austria.
In the Institute for Design Informatics, we fuse design and creative methodologies with data, data science and data-driven technologies. We create prototypes and experiences that make real to people the ideas that underpin the data society, and aim to ensure that new technologies sustain and enhance human values.
Can you believe what you hear? When is a voice or sound authentic?
This exhibition, curated by the Institute for Design Informatics, brings together exciting experimental artists including Martin Disley, Theodore Koterwas and Everest Pipkin, who are working with sound and emerging technologies to explore deep fake audio. Their work asks what it means to synthesise and replicate reality, to bring together human and machine voices, and to literally put words into others’ mouths through their unique creative and critical perspectives.
Theodore Koterwas is an artist working with data, physical phenomena and the human body to make things resonate. He seeks to draw critical attention to aspects of daily experience that often go unnoticed but profoundly impact on how we understand each other, technology and the environment.
Everest Pipkin is a game developer, writer, and artist from central Texas who lives and works on a sheep farm in southern New Mexico. Their work both in the studio and in the garden follows themes of ecology, tool making, and collective care during collapse. When not at the computer in the heat of the day, you can find them in the hills spending time with their neighbours— both human and non-human.
Unit Test is a vehicle for artistic inquiry into computational systems. Co-founded by Martin Disley and Murad Khan, the collaborative studio assembles researchers, engineers and artists to explore aesthetic approaches to investigative computation, producing research publications, software and media art.
Associated Exhibition
Whose voice is it?
Featuring work by Holly Herndon, Never Before Heard Sounds and Rachel MacLean
This associated exhibit features AI creations made by different users of Holly+ and the technology used in the production of AI voice clones for Rachel Maclean’s DUCK. Both works creatively explore voice ownership through voice cloning technology. Innovations in this field are moving at a fast pace and so if clones of our voice are no longer ours, how do we as a society deal with the issues this creates and establish governance structures that encourage responsible and ethical use of these technologies.
Image Credit: AI creations made by different users of Holly+. Photographer Beth Chalmers
Holly+
Holly+ is Holly Herndon’s digital twin, the first of its kind. This custom voice instrument and website by Never Before Heard Sounds allows for anyone to upload polyphonic audio and receive a download of that music sung back in Herndon’s distinctive voice. The website distributes ownership of her digital likeness through the creation of the Holly+ DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation).
Image Credit: App by Martin Disley, featuring DUCK film by Rachel Maclean, voice cloning technology. Photographer by Inspace
DUCK
DUCK is Rachel Maclean’s latest film, featuring a deepfake British spy thriller starring Sean Connery and Marilyn Monroe. Using deepfake visuals and audio, Maclean – who plays all the characters – swaps her voice and face with the very recognisable cast of actors. Drawing on pop-cultural imagery and content DUCK questions social contexts, political systems, consumer behaviour, or phenomena of the digital world.
DUCK (2023) was produced by Forest of Black with support from Newcastle University, Kunstpalais, Inspace, and Edinburgh University’s Department of Design Informatics.
Event Programme
Opening Reception and Artist Talks
Fri, 4 Aug 2023, 6-8pm
The opening reception featuring talks by three exhibiting artists.
Image Credit: ‘Not I’ by Unit Text. Photographer Chris Scott
The Sounds of Deep Fake
The Sounds of Deep Fake exhibition, curated by the Institute for Design Informatics, brings together work from artists Theodore Koterwas, Everest Pipkin, and creative research studio, Unit Test. The associated exhibit features work by Holly Herndon in collaboration with Never Before Heard Sounds and Rachel Maclean.
“Right now, so many of these technologies are capturing the public’s imagination. There are a lot of news headlines and scare stories, so I think it’s important to cut through this hype to address AI in a way that people can engage with, and ask questions about, instead of just being given answers from experts, corporations or governments. It is also important for us as artists to engage critically and to engage people with this subject in an accessible way.”
Participating Artist, Theodore Kotwerwas
The exhibition runs throughout August as part of Edinburgh Art Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
The Sounds of Deep Fake is a new exhibition at Inspace Gallery bringing together international artists working with sound and emerging technologies to explore deep fake audio. Premiering as part of the 2023 Edinburgh Festivals, the exhibition is a collaboration between Inspace Gallery, the Institute of Design Informatics and Creative Informatics
Each artist asks what it means to synthesise and replicate reality, to bring together human and machine voices, and to literally put words into others’ mouths through their unique creative and critical perspectives.
The Sounds of Deep Fake includes three artworks and an associated exhibit featuring work with sound and emerging technologies to explore deep fake audio. The works ask what it means, personally and politically, to synthesise, clone and manipulate voices to replicate reality.
“We are thrilled to be supporting this exhibition as part of our Creative AI demonstrator project, which is exploring the opportunities, challenges and implications of AI. These works bring AI, through Deep Fake, to life in beautiful, tangible and emotionally engaging ways that ask meaningful questions about what it means to create, collaborate and live with AI. Throughout Creative Informatics we have worked with creative people and companies to help them use data in new ways, supporting research and development but also understanding of complexity, ethical approaches, and the potential of new technology. We are excited for the potential of AI, and to see how artists and creatives can shed new light on our understanding and critical engagement with these complex technologies. It is a joy to see audiences respond to the works in The Sounds of Deep Fake and we hope they will find it as exciting, thought provoking and challenging as know this space to be.”
Tinderbox Room to Play is a creative technology course for emerging artists interested in working with interactive and digital processes in sound, art and performance.
Over the last few months, the 2023 Room to Play group of musicians, sound designers, visual & projection artists, filmmakers, lighting designers, and performance artists have come together to experiment with technology in their creative approaches to celebrate the power of play, and collaborate on a new audiovisual exhibition of playful, nature-inspired sculptures.
The installation is a playful meadow of responsive sound-making sculptures, that uses recycled and upcycled materials as the structural foundation of the work.
The installation aims to evoke a sense of wonder, curiosity, and respect for the natural world, and invites us to reflect on our relationship with nature, the impact of our actions on the environment, and the urgent need to protect and preserve it.
Room to Play was designed by Abby Carter, Ink Asher Hemp, Antony Lucchesi, Jessica McIntosh, Shawn Mark Nayar, Kenneth Nuelan, Chandi Petro, Mark Sandford, Saffron Slater, Lingli Wang, Maria Cecilie Wrang-Rasmussen and Zxy Dust, with Boris Allenou and Luci Holland.
As part of the showing at Inspace, there will also be free drop-in workshops throughout the day for children, young people and families to learn about the technology in a fun, hands-on way.
Exhibition details
Audiovisual installation 14 July 2023 | Open 1-6pm
Find out more about Room to Play and the artists here:
Exhibition and Artist Talk Monday 10 April to Sunday 16 April 11.00am to 5:00pm daily
Exhibition featuring the work of Design Informatics Artist in Residence Theodore Koterwas. Come explore the porous boundaries between us and technology as you interact with an invisible AI learning to communicate with you physically.
Through his residency Theodore has been approaching AI from the perspective of the body: exploring what it means for AI when we consider intelligence as a process of the entire body rather than just the brain. Taking inspiration from the way gesturing while speaking is our body thinking, he has created an interactive installation in which an AI’s ‘gestures’ will be felt through your body and immediate environment. He is particularly interested in how we might react to this AI we can’t see but can feel: will we treat it as an invisible friend or an uncanny poltergeist?
Artist Talk
Tuesday 11 April at 5.30pm
During a free artist talk, Theodore will present the conceptual and technical background to the work with an emphasis on critically reframing the nature of intelligence. Rather than point to embodiment as an irreconcilable difference between us and AI he will propose it as an opportunity to develop a healthier, more empathetic relationship with the exploding population of increasingly clever artificial others.
Theodore Koterwas is an artist working with data, physical phenomena and the human body to make things resonate. He seeks to draw critical attention to aspects of daily experience that often go unnoticed but profoundly impact on how we understand each other, technology and the environment.
He received his MFA in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute. Early installations included projecting the reflection of the head of a single pin onto the heads of 45,000 others, attempting to shatter glass with amplified water drops, and filling an intimate interior space with the live sound of approaching footsteps. At the Exploratorium in San Francisco he collaborated with scientists to create digital installations exploring the science of perception. He has since produced work for the University of Oxford, the University of Edinburgh, Aberdeen Performing Arts, artist and musician David Byrne and the Edinburgh Science Festival. His commission for the 2022 Science Festival saw an AI trained on the handwriting of astronomers scrawl near-realtime astronomical data on a large wall of carbon. His AI generated video installation The Nth Wave was shortlisted for the 2021 Lumen Prize for Art and Technology. Currently he is focused on data visceralisation: experiencing data internally. Somewhere In The Universe It Rains Diamonds (Aether) utilises computer vision to detect cosmic rays so you can feel them in your bones. When Do You Give Yourself Away? captures your pulse and galvanic skin response to generate a multisensory experience unique to you. As Creative AI Artist in Residence for Design Informatics at the University of Edinburgh and Creative Informatics he is investigating AI through the human body, haptics and gesture. For the 2023 Articulating Data Symposium he is critically examining the voice models underlying virtual assistants to repurpose them for interactions based on empathy rather than servitude.
Presented in partnership with Creative Informatics.
