As one of today's visionary artists working at the intersection of art, science and new technology, German-Scottish Paris-based researcher Dana-Fiona Armor taps into the possibilities of sustainable interactions between species through her various works. Delving into serious and surprising scientific data, Armor creates immersive multimedia narratives that have a sci-fi look and feel yet make real science accessible and engaging, inviting audiences to explore imaginary futures. His new paintings and installations use unique materials and techniques to help us deal with these imagined situations. Through his practice, Armor becomes a translator between humanity and other living things, aiming to eliminate the boundaries between living things, envisioning new forms of symbiosis and confronting the dangerous social and environmental divide.
Recently, Armor received the 2024 Sigg Art Award, a new award that redefines the boundaries of creative art by focusing on contemporary art that incorporates artificial intelligence. The award is given based on several factors—technology integration, innovation and artistic impact, as well as factors such as engagement with social issues and representation of diversity—and all entries receive a rigorous review by a committee this year that includes esteemed curator Nicolas Bourriaud; Joseph Fowler, head of arts and culture at the World Economic Forum; philosopher and writer Anna Longo; curator and art critic Dominique Moulon; NFT and digital art collector Seedphrase; Sorbonne professor Antonio Somaini; independent curator Anne Stenn; and Gediminas Urbonas, director of MIT's Art, Culture and Technology program. Notably, AI also had a say in the review processanalyzing art projects textually and visually using machine learning and computer vision models.
BREAKFUT: Nicolas Bourriaud Discusses the Management Approach of the 2024 Gwangju Biennale
The Observer recently caught up with the singer to talk about him successful work: Alvinella Ophisa multidisciplinary 3D animated video installation at the intersection of biotechnology, artificial intelligence and contemporary art. Set in a dystopian desert created by a natural disaster, the only human inhabitant of Armor is a hybrid—Alvinella Ophis—a combination of a snake and a Pompeii worm, a sea creature known for its extreme heat tolerance. Titled “Desert of the Future,” Armor envisions a post-human world where our species is gone, leaving only this hardy hybrid creature. “I thought of a dystopia, with a desert, where, due to climate change, the heat became so intense that people did not survive, and there is this heat-resistant creature that can sense the victim through the python's burrow with infrared rays. ,” Armor said.
Designed for an interactive installation, visitors are transformed into potential victims of this terrifying yet seductive creature as they engage with the work. Infrared sensors detect the presence of the spectators' heat, mimicking the python's heat-sensing abilities. Integrated AI processes live data, converting it into a dynamic visual response, while the quadrophonic soundscape envelops those in the room, creating an immersive and immersive environment. As Armor puts it, “The viewer is immersed in a futuristic surrealist dystopian desert, where imagination and emerging forms evoke otherworldly existences.”
Using a complex orchestration of technological inputs, symbolic narratives and multi-emotional responses, Armor creates a powerful and immersive symbolic experience that challenges visitors to rethink nature and the role of humans in an unstable world. By positioning visitors as victims of this monstrous creature, the installation disrupts anthropocentric ideals, prompting a re-evaluation of the importance of humanity within nature's wider web of interdependence, restless change and adaptation.
Armor's snake-worm hybrid also serves as a powerful evolutionary symbol for resilience. It cites the premise of Charles Darwin On the Origin of Species (1859), Armor pointed out that “they are not the strongest species of living organisms, nor the most intelligent, but they are the most responsive to change.” Working within a complex technical and conceptual framework, his installation is based on real scientific data, the result of Armour's collaboration with plant pathologists, biotechnologists and AI engineers, which allowed him to explore the nuances of genetics and the biological structure of potential hybrid species.
Armor told the Observer that the idea for the animal came from both research into species that can survive extreme future conditions and his lifelong interest in snakes. “I've always liked worms and snakes,” she said. “My first pet was a worm when I was three years old, and later, I got really into snakes. I have never been afraid of this kind of animal. I was always fascinated.”
Snakes often reappear in Armour's work, along with other amphibious hybrids, in forms ranging from swirling blown glass sculptures to digitally rendered two-dimensional futuristic images. These symbolic references are deeply rooted in the history of art and the rich cultural associations surrounding this creature across various civilizations. From Ancient Greece to pre-Columbian and Aboriginal Australian cultures, snakes have held a unique medical and spiritual role in healing—only to have their image distorted into sin and danger with the rise of Christianity. “In a temple near Athens, Askelepyum treated his patients with snakes, and he lived in harmony with snakes in this hospital,” he explained. “Christianity somewhat changed this role, but scientific evidence proves its remarkable endurance in evolution.”
The integration of AI into Alvinella Ophis it adds a layer of complexity to the discussion about the ongoing evolution of humanity, especially regarding the expansion of our thinking abilities. Armor emphasized that, throughout the programming process, his brain and creativity guided the machine's output, as it processed the data independently. “The project itself was created only in my mind,” he said. “I did it through research, so I still think this is not an AI project. It is a partnership. It will be powered by AI, but I planned it.” Unlike many artists, Armor doesn't see AI as a threat but as an empowering tool—an additional medium that artists can use to comment on the state of civilization and the world around us.
Here, as in his previous works, Armor creatively creates powerful visualizations of possible evolutions and future conditions by combining scientific research, clear thinking and the sophisticated use of materials and technology. “I try to combine art and science as subjects that look at nature in the same way despite different views,” he concluded. “Perhaps in those studies, there would be an interesting scientific result, but this is not my intention. The way artists think is very different from scientists, but that's why art can help them see a new way of thinking and dealing with certain situations.”
The role of artists is not to give definitive answers but to ask questions that allow us to think and explore alternatives to our current reality, and the very clear and dramatic situations in Armour's work do just that. They invite viewers to confront the scientific realities of our time in a meaningful and provocative way, encouraging a critical, if uncomfortable, examination of the relationship between humanity and nature.
