You, Me, Things

BACKGROUND You, Me, Things is one of twenty contemporary artworks from leading Australian and international artists to be commissioned for Experimenta Lifeforms: International Triennial of Media Art. The curatorial theme poses “what new life forms are emerging through technological and biological invention?”. You, Me, Things contributes to this conversation by using a sound recognition system powered by artificial intelligence to identify sounds and then transform the data into an evolving virtual eco-system of ‘living’ digital entities. The work responds to the emerging opportunities in creative practice afforded by computational systems growing capacity to learn and adapt autonomously with data sets. CONTRIBUTION Using machine learning to recognise, analyse and classify data as sound input You, Me, Things isa playable, interactive sound installation. It is the latest in a series of works by the artists that explore how machine learning can aid the capacity of audio recognition within interactive work. The work demonstrates an advancement of a machine learning model for aiding audio recognition input in practice. It responds to Experimenta’s curatorial theme by demonstrating how machine learning can construct forms of artificial life and contributes to the field of experimental game design by showing how sound-making can be used as a form of play and a novel approach to physical interaction. SIGNIFICANCE Experimenta is Australia’s leading organisation dedicated to commissioning, exhibiting and touring contemporary art driven by technology. Experimenta: Lifeforms is its most ambitious triennial to date and will tour nationally in 2020 – 2023 in major regional and city galleries. You, Me, Things has already been featured in the media just before its launch and will be part of a wide-ranging publicity campaign. Artist workshops and talks across Australia will also share the works conceptual and technical features with a wide audience.