This Interactive Artificial Intelligence Art Installation Will Debut In Toronto

Phoenix-based interactive audio-visual artist Devin Fleenor will debut S.E.E.D, an artificially intelligent installation with therapeutic properties, at Nuit Blanche in Toronto this September.

Using sound, lasers, motion senses and infrared cameras equipped with facial recognition, participants will be able to interact with Fleenor’s psychedelic installation at OnlyOneGallery, Toronto before it moves to Museo Franz Mayer at part of MUTEK in Mexico City in October.

S.E.E.D at Currents 2016 Santa Fe, New Mexico

Encased in an eight-foot plastic and glass cube, the AI installation is activated through human interaction and creates immersive three-dimensional light patterns that emit a ‘quadrophonic sound field’.

In part inspired by neuroscience research that considers the importance of art, music and creativity for enhanced neuroplasticity, S.E.E.D has therapeutic value.

The installation isn’t just responsive to physical presence but also the user’s emotion and mood, adapting its algorithmic makeup for the most beneficial experience.

Pending an ethics review, Fleenor is going to work with Dr. Sri Krishnan, professor and associate dean for the department of electrical and computer engineering at Ryerson University in Toronto, this autumn to analyse the ‘biofeedback data generated by S.E.E.D’ and see if the installation has healing capabilities for those suffering from brain trauma, Alzheimer’s, depression, autism and other neurological conditions.

So if you thought just looking at art is where your interaction stopped, this work will make you think again. As will many of the other pieces included in this year’s programme for Nuit Blanche Toronto.

Devin Fleenor: S.E.E.D will be at OnlyOneGallery in Toronto from September 30 to October 7 and at Museo Franz Mayer in Mexico City between October 11 to 23, 2017.

Discover other immersive art installations around the world like Arnaud Lapierre’s mirrored sculpture in Shanghai.

About the author

Freire Barnes

Art & Design Editor

Born in the heart of London, Freire's been surrounded by art since childhood. From being mesmerised by Fra Angelico's frescos in Florence to experiencing Dali's Mae West room in Caduceus, Freire's extensive travels instilled a love of the arts. After studying painting she worked for David Bowie's, Bowieart and began to write for the BBC, Bon and Dazed &amp Confused. She curated the Converse x Dazed Emerging Artists Award and was one of the first cohort to graduate from the Royal College of Art's Critical Writing in Art &amp Design MA. When not at an art opening, she's excited to bring her global art discoveries to the Culture Trip's readers.