“A Conversation” is a video installation that takes us to the early days of artificial intelligence/machine learning. It presents texts extracted from a real occasion where Google reported about the training of its Neural Conversation Model on 23rd June 2015 (http://arxiv.org/pdf/1506.05869v2.pdf). This robot was trained through open-domain movie transcript dataset.
(Machine, in italics) stands for Google’s Neural Conversation Model and (Human) stands for the human actor interacting with it. The texts are accompanied by field recordings from NASA’s Golden Record which aimed to provide a summary of living experiences on Earth. Durational visual effects are applied, gradually – a linear transformation in brightness and cyclical change in hue, at 25fps.
Edy Fung seeks to understand how our material world is conditioned through her intermedia art practice. She works with image, video, text, sound, installation, exhibition-making, as well as produces electroacoustic noise music under the name Quantum Foam. Her artistic approach often borrows speculative scenarios, alternative histories as well as found materials and archives. Her practice explores our relationship with technology, seeking more-than-human interpretations and deanthropocentric readings of our current society and environment beyond its spacetime.
Between 2019-2021, she was a visiting research associate at Sonic Arts Research Centre, Belfast. Most recently, she performed in FACT (2021), Static Liverpool (2021), MUTEK ES+AR (2021), RHA Dublin (2021), Culturlann (2020) and exhibited in IMMA (2021), CCA Derry~Londonderry (2021), Somerset House Studios (2020) and MUTEK Montréal (2020).
This exhibition is curated by Gregory McCartney. Thanks to Edy Fung.
This exhibition is funded by Derry City and Strabane District Council.
