Reality is an interface

A collection of 25 machine embroidered hangings and a large woven tapestry. Textiles generated using machine learning diffusion models and inspired by Zhuangzi's Butterfly Dream. In this tale, Zhuangzi dreams he is a butterfly. On waking he wonders if he could have been a butterfly dreaming he was a man. Our perceptions produce our reality. The idea of our senses acting as an interface for our version of reality comes from cognitive neuroscientist Donald Hoffman via his 'Interface Theory of Perception'. In this idea, he suggests that there is no veridical 'reality', no singular experiential truth. Rather, each organism evolves a certain type of perception to assess fitness of the world, enabling particular qualia to be experienced through their senses. This of course intersects with Jakob Von Uexkull's idea of the umwelt. This project reflects on the emerging sensory worlds of intelligent machines and the realities they may experience: considering that realities emerge through whichever sensory systems may process it.

Exhibited at Haus of Vovo Lutruwita Australia 2023.

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