ArchaeaBot

“ArchaeaBot: A Post Climate Change, Post Singularity Life-form” is an underwater robotic installation by Alex May and Anna Dumitriu that explores what ‘life’ might mean in a post-singularity and post-climate change future.

Based on new research on archaea (a group of unicellular micro-organisms believed to be the oldest form of life on earth adapted to life in extreme conditions) combined with the latest innovations in artificial intelligence and machine learning, the artists have tried to create the ultimate’ species for the end of the world.

News

  • Topologies of the Real: Techne Shenzen – May 1, 2023
    ArchaeaBot is featured in “Topologies of the Real: Techne Shenzen” at the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning (MoCAUP).
  • SUPERNATURAL: Sculptural Visions of the Body – February 18, 2023
    ArchaeaBot is featured as part of “SUPERNATURAL: Sculptural Visions of the Body” on show at Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan.
  • ArchaeaBot at the 23rd Triennale Milano International – July 2, 2022
    ArchaeaBot will be part of the Unknown Unknowns exhibition at the 23rd Triennale Milano International Exhibition
  • Magic Machines – July 1, 2022
    ArchaeaBot: A Post Climate Change, Post Singularity Life-form will be part of “Magic Machines” at the Technische Sammlungen Dresden in Germany from July 1st to September 22nd 2022
  • ArchaeaBot in “The Beauty of Early Life” at ZKM – March 26, 2022
    ArchaeaBot: A Post Climate Change, Post Singularity Life-form is part of The Beauty of Early Life exhibition, at ZKM Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, Germany from 26th March 2022 to 10th July 2022.
  • Under the Viral Shadow: Conference – October 6, 2021
    In the international interdisciplinary one-day conference Under the Viral Shadow Art Laboratory Berlin (ALB) will explore various networks – biological, cybernetic, and social – also in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Under the Viral Shadow – August 27, 2021
    ArchaeaBot by Alex May and Anna Dumitriu is being shown at Art Laboratory Berlin as part of their “Under the Viral Shadow” exhibition
  • ArchaeaBot publication in ALIFE 2021 – July 2, 2021
    ArchaeaBot: A Post Singularity and Post Climate Change Life-form has been selected for publication in the proceedings and for a virtual oral presentation at the ALIFE 2021 conference.
  • Forum Design Pays De La Meije – July 2, 2021
    Alex May will participate as part of an online round-table discussion chaired by par Zoé Sfez (a journalist for France Cultur) with Anna Dumitriu, boredomresearch, and more at Forum Design Pays De La Meije on 2nd July 2021 from 6pm CEST.
  • ArchaeaBot in SUPERNATURAL – Oulu Museum of Art, Finland – May 29, 2021
    “ArchaeaBot: A Post Climate Change, Post Singularity Life-form” is on show at the Oulu Museum of Art in Finland as part of the SUPERNATURAL exhibition between May 5th and October 17th, 2021.

Exhibitions

SUBMERGE at Science Gallery Bengularu, India
Science Gallery Bengaluru’s first exhibition-season at Bangalore International Centre

Growing at ZHI ART MUSEUM, Chengdu, China
ArchaeaBot is featured as part of a new exhibition at ZHI ART MUSEUM in China.

Tetramatyka festival 2019, Lviv, Ukraine
WRO Biennale 2019 CZYNNIK LUDZKI / HUMAN ASPECT exhibition.

Intelligent Machinery, Ugly Duck Gallery, London, UK
This exhibition and events programme by artists Anna Dumitriu and Alex May critically explores robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and bio-computation through a series of installations and robotic artworks.

Furtherfield in London, UK
“ArchaeaBot” is on show as part of “Time Portals” which opened at Furtherfield on 9th May 2019 and runs until 20th October 2019.

HeK in Basel, Switzerland
The latest version of ArchaeaBot premiered at HeK (Haus der elektronischen Künste) in Basel as part of “Entangled Realities – Living with Artificial Intelligence“ from 9th May – 11th August 2019 with an opening on 8th May 2019. 

IMPAKT, Utrecht, Netherlands
ArchaeaBot was exhibited at IMPAKT in Utrecht, Netherlands as part of “A World Without Us” from 23rd November 2018 to 3rd February 2019 alongside “Antisocial Swarm Robots” and with a showcase of “BioComputation Robots” also by Anna Dumitriu and Alex May in an exhibition curated by Arjon Dunnewind.

Silbersalz Festival in Halle, Germany
ArchaeaBot was shown at the Kunstmuseum Moritzburg as part of the Silbersalz Festival in Halle Germany from 20-23rd June 2019.

WRO 2019 Biennale in Wroclaw, Poland
ArchaeaBot was on show as part of the WRO 2019 Biennale “Human Aspect” which was open during the period of the 15th-19th May 2019 and ran until 28th July 2019. The exhibition took place in the Four Domes Pavilion Art Museum.

Anna Dumitriu and Alex May also spoke in the “Human Aspect/Non Human Aspect” conference programme at Wroclaw School of Art on the 17th May 2019.

Bandits-Mages, Bourges, France
From 15th November to 2nd December 2018 “ArchaeaBot” was on show as part of Rencontres Bandits-Mages “Unstable Reality and Shifting Knowledges: Mending the Fabric of the World” in Bourges, France, curated by Annick Bureaud. 

To accompany the exhibition Dumitriu and May gave a talk “Collaboration Across the Three Domains” about their work at 6pm on 16th November and a collaborative practical and theoretical workshop about the ArchaeaBot project from 11am to 5pm on the 17th. Anna Dumitriu then lead a solo “BioArt and Bacteria” workshop on the 18th November. View the full festival programme here.

LABoral,  Gijón, Spain
ArchaeaBot returned to be exhibited at LABoral where Anna Dumitriu, Alex May and Amanda Wilson also discussed the project in the event “Future Life” at LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial in Gijón, Spain.

The event ran from 5:30-8:00pm with a series of discussions and visitors were able to experience the installation which in an exhibition at gallery until 11th October 2018.

Ars Electronica Festival 2018, Linz, Austria
“ArchaeaBot” premiered to acclaim as part of “Error in Progress” at the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, 5th – 10th September 2018 in the Bunker at POSTCITY. The artists also gave a talk as part of the Artists Talks series from 6:00 – 7:30pm on the Workshop Stage at POSTCITY on Saturday 8th September 2018. ArchaeaBot was included in the highlights video and best of Ars Electronica review.

Documentary

Media coverage

Asturian Regional Television reported the opening of the exhibition on their lunchtime news show and interviewed the artists (Spain), September 2018.

El Comercio featured the opening event of the exhibition at LABoral, (Spain), September 2018.

Postinterface featured the article “Spain. Artists create artificially intelligent underwater robots based on ancient life at LABoral”, (Italy), September 2018.

The Japanese magazine Axis featured “ArchaeaBot” and an interview with the artists in their Report on the Ars Electronica Festival 2018, (Japan), November 2018.

Utrecht Central featured the presentation of “ArchaeaBot” in “A World Without Us” in an article “New IMPAKT in Utrecht”, (Netherlands), November 2018.

Credits

The work was made in collaboration with researcher/cryomicroscopist Amanda Wilson as part of the EU FET Open H2020 funded MARA project based in the Beeby Lab at Imperial College London, and the School of Computer Science at the University of Hertfordshire.

Supported by Arts Council England and through an EMAP/EMARE artists residency at LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial in Spain via funding from Creative Europe.


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