On the heels of landing the digital twin of its Human Cell Atlas Project in partnership with CERN on the moon on February 22nd, Ouchhh presented the physical twin at Art Dubai Digital from March 1-3, 2024. The globally renowned new media and AI data painting studio launched ‘HUMAN CELL ATLAS_Neuroorganismic AI Data Spatial Painting of Humanity’ as a feature work in both large-scale installation and one-of-a-kind collector works formats. Only a few days prior to the fair, the studio made its mark in the art history books by having the digital iteration of one of its most significant AI data paintings land on the moon via Intuitive Machines’ and SpaceX’s Odysseus mission’s moon lander.
The artwork was the first AI painting in history to make its way up into space. The digital twin is currently contained in a digital hard drive time capsule ‘Museum’ somewhere on the moon around 384 400 km (238 855 miles) away. One day, long after our time on this planet, someone landing on the moon will find this artefact of a digital drive, wonder what this mysterious object contains, open the files and witness what artificial intelligence once understood to be the state of ‘Humanity’ during a time long ago
ouchhh’s ai data paintings pave way for new means of creation
From March 1-3, Art Dubai Digital fair, the technology-driven section of the 17th edition of Art Dubai, brought together the world’s best-in-class artists, studios and galleries that leverage new media and represent the zeitgeist of art in the digital era. The standout and most-buzzed about presentation by Ouchhh was celebrated not only for its visually impactful installations, but also for the significance of the project — the contribution was quite literally ‘out of this world.’
Last week, the Istanbul-based studio unveiled the physical rendition of the recently revealed data paintings as a feature presentation of the 2024 edition of Art Dubai Digital, which was co-curated by Auronda Scalera and Alfredo Cramerotti, two leaders in the industry known for their forward-thinking focus on the art world. The presented works of ‘HUMAN CELL ATLAS_Neuroorganismic AI Data Spatial Painting of Humanity are part of an ongoing multi-year partnership with CERN, and were unveiled in two formats: a large-scale installation located at the main entrance of the Art Dubai Digital in front of Mina A’Salam Jumeirah Hotel, and in a gallery booth setting featuring a selection of smaller scale collectors works inside the fair.
The presentation at Art Dubai is in partnership with Chicago-based Hilton Contemporary gallery, recognized internationally for its representation of top domestic and international artists within the genres of photography, painting, sculptures and more recently new media. ‘Our gallery specifically focuses on initiating a dialogue to bring awareness to the contemporary issues of our times,’ says Arica Hilton, Hilton Contemporary’s gallerist-owner.
‘Ouchhh Studio pulled off an impressive double act for Art Dubai Digital; simultaneously presenting a groundbreaking artwork based on RNA database to revisit what it means to visualise ourselves,’ say Alfredo Cramerotti and Auronda Scalera. ‘The outdoor visual-and-sound installation on display day and night literally stopped viewers in their tracks between the Contemporary and Digital Art pavilions.’
at the intersection of machine learning and art
If you have not heard of Ouchhh it’s a fair bet that you have likely seen its work in reality or online. Ouchhh is a cutting-edge, globally renowned, multi-award winning science- and data-driven new media studio that pioneered the art movement intersecting artificial intelligence, technology, scientific data, and art to produce colossal-sized digital AI data paintings, kinetic interactive art installations, projections, and immersive experiences on the world’s largest buildings and monuments, at leading museums and institutions around the world, and commissions and partnerships with the most recognized technology, consumer, and luxury brands. AI has boomed over the past year, but New Media Artists and Ouchhh Founder-Director duo Ferdi Alici and Eylul Duranagac Alıcı have been tapping the technology for over eleven years, leveraging new technological models to generate monolithic visuals through machine learning.
The laundry list of more than 70 monumental projects to-date include projects in partnership with Ars Electronica, CERN, NASA, Google, Signal, Bulgari, Hennessey, Mercedes-Benz, Nike, Audi, Infiniti, Absolut, Ferrari F1, TedxCern, League of Legends, Sony Playstation, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros, and Paramount Pictures, taking on a key character role in ‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning’ as ‘The Entity.’ Museum, institutional and festival commissions include World Economic Forum Davos AI House 2024, Melbourne Light Festival, Mori Museum Tokyo, Singapore Art and Science Museum, Frost Miami Science Museum, SAT Société des arts technologiques Montreal, Canada National Space Center UK, American Indian Arts, Atelier Des Lumieres, LLUM Light Festival Barcelona, PETRA Light Festival.
A multi-disciplinary collaboration with cern
With AI being the top-of-mind universal conversation across the globe this past year, it is fitting for Art Dubai Digital to have invited Ouchhh to participate as a main feature, as the studio’s work is exemplary of the evolution of art in this new AI era. Especially with the strong debate over whether AI is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in nature, if it will help or hinder humankind, the optimistic message and meaning of Ouchhh’s ‘HUMAN CELL ATLAS_Neuroorganismic AI Data Spatial Painting of Humanity’ could not come at a more poignant time.
Ouchhh together with CERN — the European Organization for Nuclear Research, one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research — has brought together an international coalition of over 2300 members from more than 1000 institutes across 83 countries. Scientists, biologists, clinicians, and mathematicians have united under this initiative, aiming to map every cell in the human body. This colossal effort serves as the foundation for Ouchhh’s ongoing art project, which visualises and interprets the staggering 37.2 trillion cells that comprise the human organism.
It is an outward expression of machine learning’s interpretation — or painting or portrait — of Humanity. It symbolises humanity in the present moment in time — the year that AI boomed. Which makes it all the more sense why Ouchhh was invited to join the moon mission. As the ‘Human Cell Atlas Project’ in partnership with CERN is ongoing, there is more to come from Ouchhh in future. Art Dubai Digital was one stop of many, and Ouchhh will continue to bring the installation to other destinations across the globe.
project info:
name: HUMAN CELL ATLAS_Neuroorganismic AI Data Spatial Painting of Humanity
artist: Ouchhh
program: Art Dubai 2024
dates: March 1-3, 2024
text by: Katie Lister