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Art & Artificial Life International Competition | Home | Entry | Editions | References | Español | |
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Quorum Sensing As the biologists make cultures of living matter in Petri’s dishes, I make cultures of biospheres inside the computer, with my Artificial Life programs. Using genetic algorithms, one can create autonomous virtual creatures that are simultaneously organic and artistic. A substrate, generated by “cellular automata” algorithm, nourishes them. When they die, their bodies decay and decompose into virtual trace elements that carry the regenerative force of this living environment. These interdependent life cycles generate a complex, evolving system in perpetual symbiosis. Through the means of the interactive installation "Quorum Sensing", my biosphere cultures become embodied into reality; and the visitors make contact with them. The title of this interactive installation comes from a biological phenomenon called Quorum Sensing. It describes a communication and an activation mechanism of group behaviours resulting from the secretion and the sensitivity to self-inductive pheromones. This enables bacterial colonies to coordinate their individual behaviour and to act like a multi-cellular organization. Derived from this idea, the interactivity in the Quorum Sensing installation is related to a collective interaction mode that depends on mutual comprehension and the needs of the spectators as a group. As Philippe Codognet states: "The meaning of these interactions in a multi-user environment is not produced by the artist, but fully and freely built by the spectators and causes the emergence of a shared behaviour". This interactive installation "Quorum Sensing" explores the collective consciousness of visitors and their behaviour. If virtual creatures return, if Artificial Life proliferates around visitors, it is due to the emergence of the collective interactions of the “Quorum Sensing”! |
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