A screenshot showing the code behind the Treelemma system as it receives satellite data and connects it to our customized AI, which, once a fire is detected, will begin writing a commemorative epitaph.
The display of ‘Treelemma’ consists of two components: A large projection of the most recent epitaph (that has been written by our customized AI). And, a device next to it that shows the coordinates of the corresponding forest fire that triggered the epitaph in the projection.
Rather than displaying each “forest-epitaph” as static text, the AI-generated epitaph is transformed into an animation in which the text alternates between turning into ashes and becoming legible. This timelapse captures different moments of that fluctuation. Inspired by the quiet structure of haikus, this epitaph reads: On the river bank. A great blue-bellied lizard. Bit by bit, he’s gone.
The invention of the telescope in the early 17th century radically transformed humanity’s image of itself, its own place in the cosmos. From Galileo to us, optical telescopes consist of two lenses. If one would attempt a simple definition of a telescope, it could be said that it is a device that dramatically extends the reach of the eye. The sophisticated astronomy practiced in the Andes had a different approach, ‘water mirrors’ allowed these ancient scientists to study the stars by looking downwards to their reflection.
TEARS TELESCOPE {VIDEO STILL}
‘Tears Telescope’ aims to intertwine these two distinctive astronomical approaches (Western and Andean) by making a telescope that replaces regular glass lenses by droplets. The two images above show the original layout for the experiment. Lastly, the artist decided to use liquid produced by the eyes themselves rather than water, hence teardrops were used as the final lenses. A photograph of the moon, magnified by this tears telescope, was finally taken.
TEARS TELESCOPE {PHOTOGRAPH, THE MOON MAGNIFIED BY TWO TEARDROPS}
The recording of this performance presents us with two paradoxes. What we perceive as different worlds –outer space and the underworld– become equivalent ecologies. And, the most mundane aspects of life –i.e. getting a haircut– will follow us within any cosmic utopia. Hence, this act of ‘embodied fiction’ is also a call for us to prepare for emerging ways of living.
