Serpentine presents ‘Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive,’ a captivating exhibition showcasing the latest works by the esteemed artist and AI innovator, Refik Anadol. Running from February 16th to April 7th, 2024, at Serpentine North, this exhibition promises to immerse visitors in Anadol’s groundbreaking exploration of the intersection between art, technology, and the natural world.
Renowned for his digital creations and monumental public installations, Anadol’s collaborative approach with AI delves into the depths of human perception. “Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive” will unveil Anadol’s extensive experimentation with visual data from coral reefs and rainforests, offering a glimpse into years of artistic exploration.
The exhibition’s centrepiece is “Artificial Realities: Coral (2023),” a mesmerising artwork crafted using Stable Diffusion, an advanced AI image production technology. Anadol’s studio trained a unique AI model with over 5 billion images of corals available online, resulting in abstracted coral visuals and colour combinations. Through a multi-channel sound and video experience, visitors will be transported into a virtual underwater realm, inviting them to immerse themselves in the beauty of coral ecosystems.
Additionally, the exhibition will feature the UK premiere of “Living Archive: Nature,” a commissioned piece initially presented at the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Transformed for Serpentine North, this installation reimagines the gallery space as an AI-generated interpretation of a rainforest. Utilising data from renowned institutions like the Smithsonian Institution and London’s Natural History Museum, the installation showcases the longest 3D generative AI outputs on nature, incorporating flora, fungi, and fauna from diverse rainforest locations worldwide.
Anadol’s visionary approach to art and technology is encapsulated in his “Large Nature Model,” the world’s first open-source generative AI multimodal focused on nature. Through collaborative efforts with mentor Hans Ulrich Obrist, Anadol presents multisensory artworks derived from this model, exploring the intersection of visuals, sound, and scent.
Curated by Claude Adjil and produced by Brittany Stewart and Halime Özdemir, “Echoes of the Earth: Living Archive” marks the beginning of a year-long exploration of AI and art at Serpentine. In collaboration with 10F1 and supported by patron Ryan Zurrer, this exhibition underscores Serpentine’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of contemporary art and technology.
About Refik Anadol
Born in Istanbul in 1985, Anadol founded Refik Anadol Studio in Los Angeles in 2014. Known for groundbreaking data narratives, he teaches at UCLA’s Department of Design Media Arts, where he earned his Master of Fine Arts. Anadol redefines architecture through “post-digital” concepts, imagining new realities by transforming architectural elements. His works, showcased in prestigious collections worldwide, have been exhibited at renowned venues including the Museum of Modern Art, in New York, and the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art. Anadol’s global projects, including Living Architecture: Casa Batlló, have earned numerous awards, cementing his status as a pioneer in AI-driven public art.
Location: Serpentine Gallery, London
Date: February 16th to April 7th, 2024
Caption featured image: Refik Anadol, Artificial Realities: Coral, 2023. Courtesy Refik Anadol Studios