Visionary artist Memo Akten questions the nature of consciousness in the Australian premiere of his multi-screen, AI exhibition at ACMI
15 June 2023
Visionary artist Memo Akten questions the nature of consciousness in the Australian premiere of his multi-screen, AI exhibition at ACMI
ACMI is set to showcase the work of trailblazing, multi-disciplinary artist, researcher and computer scientist, Memo Akten, with the Australian premiere of AI exhibition Distributed Consciousness from 16 June 2023 – 31 July 2024.
Presented in ACMI’s Gallery 2, the exhibition is part of an ongoing international moving image art series generously supported by ACMI’s Major Philanthropic Partner, Naomi Milgrom AC and the Naomi Milgrom Foundation.
Visitors are invited to embrace the interconnectivity of everything, as the visually compelling installation explores human and non-human consciousness – and using them for collective good – via the Al (Artificial Intelligence) musings of octopus-like digital beings.
“The Internet is not a bunch of computers connected to each other, but a bunch of human minds connected to each other.”
Dreamt up by Akten during 2020 – 2021 in a remote Turkish fishing village; Distributed Consciousness was inspired by his daily diving encounters with octopuses.
The work began as a set of online digital artworks, with the now eight-channel video installation featuring 256 unique images of octopus-like Tentacular Creatures created with custom Artificial Intelligence software coded by the artist.
Octopuses are incredibly intelligent; only 10% of their neurons are in a central brain, while the rest is distributed across their bodies. Distributed Consciousness draws parallels between the distributed computation performed by smart-contract based blockchains, and the distributed cognition of these octopus-like creatures.
Each image in the exhibition has hidden text encoded within it: a verse, invisible to the human eye but readable by computers, collectively forming a manifesto that spans consciousness, free will, life, death, art, technology, ritual, ecology, economy and sustainability.
”We need to tell different stories. Stories of possibilities. Stories of hope. We need to cultivate new ways of being, so that we can be present in the world as it is. We need to find the time to act, now more than ever.”
Distributed Consciousness is presented in an immersive environment where a selection of ‘tentacular creatures’ and ‘verses’ are played in a 20-minute-long story on eight human-sized screens. The vibrant images provide a playful entry for audiences into Memo’s work, while those looking to explore further can dive deeper into its key themes of ecology and equity: the tentacular creatures take us through the environmental challenges facing the planet, and guide us towards a more constructive, collaborative – and conscious future.
This contemporary exhibition by Memo Akten is generously supported by Naomi Milgrom AC and the Naomi Milgrom Foundation. Our ongoing partnership builds on ACMI and Naomi Milgrom AC's experience of supporting, commissioning and presenting leading artists' works with moving image globally.
Artist Memo Akten said: “I’m very excited to be showing this work at ACMI. This is not only an Australian premiere of the work, but a brand-new presentation, with refined content adapted specifically for ACMI. In that respect, this is the first showing of this unique incarnation. I’m really looking forward to sharing this work and its message with ACMI’s audience.”
ACMI Executive Director of Programming Keri Elmsly said: “Distributed Consciousness offers up a poetic manifesto on the nature of consciousness with these wildly beautiful tentacular creatures as our guide. This exhibition is a first for ACMI, its hugely important that we engage with the artists whose practice is deeply embedded in human guided machine learning (AI), the ethics, creative potential, and the underlying systems. The work simultaneously delivers wonder and awe with its vivid and strange critters underpinned by the fundamental question ‘what is the nature of consciousness?’”
Naomi Milgrom AC said: “The Naomi Milgrom Foundation is excited to be partnering with ACMI to bring Memo Akten’s Distributed Consciousness to Melbourne, providing an opportunity for hundreds of thousands of Australian audiences to experience this extraordinary moving image artwork. We have no doubt that Memo Akten’s work and associated public and education programs will provide an engaging and compelling experience for these audiences and enhance the presence and influence of creative culture in Australia.”
Memo Akten: Distributed Consciousness will show in ACMI’s Gallery 2 from 16 June 2023 – 16 June 2024. For further details visit acmi.net.au
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Download media assets here.
For further information, please contact media@acmi.net.au
Memo Akten: Distributed Consciousness
16 June 2023 – 16 June 2024
ACMI, Gallery 2
FREE
ABOUT ACMI
ACMI is Australia’s national museum of screen culture. The museum reopened in February 2021 after a two-year, $40 million redevelopment – an architectural, programmatic and technological transformation. Navigate the universe of film, TV, videogames and art with us. ACMI celebrates the wonder and power of the world’s most democratic artform – fostering the next generation of makers, players and watchers. ACMI’s vibrant calendar of exhibitions, screenings, commissions, festivals, and industry and education programs explore the stories, technologies and artists that create our shared screen culture. More at acmi.net.au
ABOUT NAOMI MILGROM FOUNDATION
The Naomi Milgrom Foundation is dedicated to bringing exceptional art, architecture and design to the lives of Australians. Established in 2014 by Naomi Milgrom AC, the not-for-profit organisation pivots on a central purpose—to enhance the presence and influence of creative culture in Australia. This is accomplished through the active support of artists, designers and creative institutions, the fostering of collaborations between bodies and disciplines, the championing of art and design education, and an overarching commitment to making the arts more accessible to more people across the country.
Driven by the conviction that art and design have the power to enrich the lives of individuals, nourish communities, boost economies and improve the growth of cities, The Naomi Milgrom Foundation has become the gold standard for facilitating projects between public and private sectors.
ABOUT MEMO AKTEN
Memo Akten is a multi-disciplinary artist, musician, researcher and computer scientist from Istanbul, Turkey, currently based in Los Angeles. He explores the tensions between ecology, technology, science and spirituality; studying intelligence in nature, intelligence in machines, perception, consciousness, neuroscience, physics and (philosophies of) spirituality, ritual and religion. He uses code as his craft to create images, sounds, films, large-scale responsive installations and performances. He received his PhD from Goldsmiths University of London, specialising in creative applications of Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning with Meaningful Human Control, and in this field he is considered one of the world’s leading pioneers. He is currently Assistant Professor of Computational Art and Design at University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Akten is a frequent keynote speaker on topics involving art, science, technology and culture.