[transmutation_of_species]

“[transmutation_of_species]” depicts a colorful iridescent slow-moving maelstrom of butterfly wings that seem to morph and evolve in mysterious ways. The work is part of her Artificial Natural History series, which examines how nature was depicted before cameras existed–when people had to draw what they saw. Using a public domain dataset of old illustrations of butterflies, the piece is generated with a CNN (convolutional neural network).

"Our lived experiences tell us to expect that some things are blue and others green. Some have a certain shape and others have a certain smell. The categories become words that form sentences through which we read the world around us. These sentences are often conveniently misleading. A whole host of words that help us orient the natural world are gathered in the word “species”. We can with great granularity discern between one species of butterfly and another. For the butterflies, perhaps, things aren’t as granular, maybe for them, the concept of resonance is closer to their truth: For they, like all other life, are in constant mutation and transmutation. Ever evolving, adapting, interbreeding and experimenting. What matters isn’t their definition, but the degree to which they resonate with each other for the sharing of space, resources, protection, mating, and more. A lack of resonance may imply a greater competition for resources and a lack of mating opportunities. The fluidity of the individuals of each new generation is the beautiful strength of the butterfly, to be a myriad of resonant tones that form an every evolving soundscape in a greater landscape of transmutative vibrations." 🦋