As a sort of digital complement to the otherworldly environment created by artist, performer, and writer Josèfa Ntjam in the courtyard of the Academy of Fine Arts, an AI-based interface here allows visitors to generate their own hybrid species. This is achieved by combining Ntjam’s data collection with photographs of plankton produced by ISMAR’s flow cytometer, a tool used to classify organisms found in water samples taken 16 kilometers off the coast. By populating this virtual ecosystem with locally generated creatures, the public is invited to join in the process of disseminating ancestral stories, becoming active participants in the exhibition.

Featured image: Installation at Palazzina Canonica Cnr – Ismar
Courtesy the Artist; Las Art Foundation. © Adagp, Paris, 2024. Photo: Andrea Rossetti