83 Seeds from a Vanishing Mountain #6

Digital images, custom generative adversarial networks (GAN), NFT, and Ethereum blockchain, 2023
Private collection

Artists Sofia Crespo and Anna Ridler here combine their shared interest in botany, experimental photography, and generative systems. The underlying digital image is composed of artificially generated versions of 83 plant species native to the Swiss Alps. The species are at risk of disappearing due to climate change.

Rather than document these endangered plants as they currently exist, the artists used generative adversarial networks (GANs) to create imaginative variations of how these species might adapt and evolve. Just as seeds contain genetic potential for new traits, the artists produced new visual possibilities by employing “seeds” (data points) in digital latent space, the underlying mathematical structure where AI generates images. Each plant species was generated individually, manually altered using software like Photoshop, and eventually combined into this floral arrangement using a process akin to digital collage. The results reveal subtly uncanny flowers—familiar yet impossible. The final image was subdivided into 25 slices, each becoming a unique artwork stored on the blockchain.