Cryptographic Beings Artwork by Michael Sedbon |
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| DESIGN NAME: Cryptographic Beings PRIMARY FUNCTION: Artwork INSPIRATION: The first part of the 20th century witnessed simultaneously the discovery of the basis of information storage in DNA and the revolutions of the modern computing era. Since then, the fields of computer science and modern biology have co-evolved in a conceptual framework that looks at life as an information processing system and at digital computations as Intelligence. This cultural relationship is allowing us to design new kinds of bio-hybrid computers leveraging the massive capacity of life. UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Cryptographic Beings is a technological proposal that leverages our ability to control and abstract biology to perform digital information storage. Marimos are large spherical colonies of algea. Photosynthetic activity produces gas vesicles visible to the naked eye This property allows them to float when exposed to light and sink in the dark This property is used to store digital data: The floating or sinking state representing digital 0s or 1s This robotic setup is capable of storing a 5 letter word OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: This autonomous machine consists of an array of 30 vegetal bits made of filamentous algae held in glass vessels. The control of the information flow is handled by a set of specifically developed robotic arms that control photosynthetic processes in each of the bits. The state of each bit (the digital information) is retrieved by a custom-made device based on a colour sensor. The machine is designed to run autonomously for months throughout an exhibition. PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: The project was conceptualised and prototyped in summer 2021. The production occurred from September 2021 to March 2022. This work was shown at Au Dela Des Pixel, a digital art exhibition curated and organised by 36 Degres, in March 2022 in Paris. FITS BEST INTO CATEGORY: Fine Arts and Art Installation Design |
PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: This work was developed as part of an ongoing research project on bio-hybrid computation exploring the possible morpho-space of computing devices. Michael Sedbon questions the information-processi SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: Width : 60 cm height : 300 cm Depth : 60 cm Weight : 300 Kg TAGS: Artificial Living Intelligence, Synthetic Biology, Bio-Hybrid Computers, Living Machines, New Media Art, Robotic RESEARCH ABSTRACT: Living organisms perceive and interact with their environment through computation. Recent advances in the life sciences allow researchers and designers to envision machines of new kinds that leverage the massive and specific capacities of living matter in computing. How would these bio-hybrid machines change our perception of nature and culture, what can be used to compute, what can be computed and what form will they take? These are the question this work approach. CHALLENGE: Cryptographic being is both a technological and an artistic proposal. The technology used to store digital information in vegetal media is a pure creation for this work. During its development, numerous technical challenges such as the design of custom sensors and engineered mechanical parts had to be overcome. As an artistic project, it also had to communicate its (highly technical) subject in an understandable manner. Great care was placed in rendering biological processes visible. ADDED DATE: 2022-12-17 18:05:27 TEAM MEMBERS (1) : Michael Sedbon IMAGE CREDITS: Michael Sedbon, 2022. |
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| Visit the following page to learn more: https://michaelsedbon.com/ | |||||
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NAME: Michael Sedbon PROFILE: Michael Sedbon runs an independent design studio that explores the cultural relationship between digital technology and biological techno sciences. To do so, he design and build bio-hybrid computers manipulating living organisms through rules embedded in software, hardware and wetware (logical systems embedded within cells in the form of genetic and chemical programs). |
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