Image of the Forest
“(...) all intelligence is an abstraction of the present context. Therefore producing an abstraction is the essence of intelligence. But that abstraction is only a snapshot of the organism; it is not the organism itself. All models are wrong, because we build them to perform actions that are not feasible using the original.”
~The Oxford Handbook of Ethics of AI
Image of The Forest is an immersive experience and architectural study of the fractal patterns that can be found in nature.
Bringing together designers, researches and engineers it raises the question of how, through the subjective process of artistic inquiry and objective scientific experimentation, can we describe universally the processes underpinning human perception of complexity that can be found in natural and artificial nature.
Keywords:
In this exciting time scientific and artistic exploration as well as collaborative research bring new insights into the impacts of transition from natural to artificial domain.
Situated in the theory of architecture, affective neuroscience, and Gestalt psychology, Image of the Forest explores the fundamental, abstracted components of natural scenery that evoke positive emotions and can be further integrated into urban environments to improve cognitive well-being.
The scientific underpinning of our work is Joie, research from the MIT Media Lab on detecting joy through the analysis of electrophysiological patterns in the brain.
Moreover, human visual system is wired to organise visual input in terms of increasingly complex image features: edges, shapes, and structures.
The bottom-up visual pathway starts at the lowest level of the image — edges. From there, subsequent regions of the visual cortex 'build up' the image, constructing shapes and structures. The images we see can, therefore, be understood in terms of these basic features of a system of "wholeness"— in which, certain geometric properties and structures have a universal ability to evoke specific emotional states.
To understand how the “images of the forest” are perceived in the visual cortex and how it impacts emotional states, we’ve created a dataset that represents images segmented into their features and organised on a scale of increasing complexity. Original photographs represent the highest level of complexity—structures.
By utilizing the discrete Fourier transform to analyze spectra of the analog forest photographs, we seek the understanding of how different complexity levels within an image can trigger changes in neural response.
Approach motivation refers to whether an organism will move toward a stimulus and is associated with greater relative left prefrontal cortical activity; withdrawal motivation refers to whether it will move away from it and is associated with greater relative right prefrontal cortical activity. These changes are detectable with wearable, miniature brain-sensing devices.
We hypothesise that more natural environments, characterised by optimal shape complexity, are associated with positive effects on restoration and healing, as evidenced by increased left frontal alpha asymmetry. Furthermore, these environments can be dynamically adjusted to enhance these states, promoting emotional and cognitive recovery.
By using Joie and the abstracted images of the forest arranged on a scale of increasing complexity (decreasing abstraction), we question the level of 'naturalness' needed to evoke approach motivation and associated cognitive benefits.
Novel brain computer interfaces enable us to examine the questions of experiential deprivation in the virtual, vision dominated spaces and contrast them to the objective measures of real world experiences.
Looking through those lenses Image of The Forest explores how, with the use of sensory technologies and insights from data, we can create scientific evidence for the governance of the elusive and fleeting. With the rapid onset of infinite seductive mimicry of models abstracting the real phenomenon we propose to return to the origins, to track the neural signals of skewed experiences. To better understand the design forms simultaneously alluring and shallow. To create spaces that are enriching at the most fundamental, subconscious level of human perception encouraging a dialogue about the values we should nourish to create the physical and digital architectures of the future.
The resulting artwork is an interplay between the complexity of visual forest scenery and the shift in the neural activity interacting in an infinite feedback loop with the unreachable goal of finding the personal representation of the ‘image of the forest’ - the essence of the spatial shapes and structures, that invites the viewer to explore opaque, dream-like spirits of human experience.
While studies published in top-tier journals investigate the significant relationships between exposure to nature and its effects on human health, including affective symptoms and cognitive abilities, still little of those findings are incorporated into the design of the urban spaces. Contemporary cityscape is to large extent industrialized and dominated by the design emphasizing function over aesthetics. Cities are optimized only for factors that can be quantitatively measured.
Even with increasing emphasis on the use of digital tools in the simulation and urban design process, aspects of beauty are still often marginalized as there is no body of scientific evidence available to support the arguments of value of architectural design beyond functionality.
With the Image of The Forest we invite the public to explore the visual qualities of the cityscape. Using transdisciplinary research we attempt to create scientific evidence and raise awareness of the value of the aesthetics of the built environment and their consequences for physiological, psychological, and mental well-being “calling on all of us to imagine and build together a sustainable and inclusive future that is beautiful for our eyes, minds, and souls.”
Authors
Sonia Litwin, MEng
I’m a Biomedical Engineer and Designer. I use computer and neuroscience to deepen the understanding of emotional immersion in human interaction with embodied intelligent systems. My aim is to create artificial agents that are not only intelligent but also sensible and adaptive to the most visceral of human experiences.
My career spans seven countries. With roles in academia, management consulting, automation and medical technology, my trajectory was shaped by the pursuit of engineering research, with the objective of coining a new meaning for "bionic design" — systems that augment, rather than replicate, human abilities.
I'm a founder of a hybrid design and research studio, SLab2.8 which serves as an accelerator for research collaborations with international academic and business partners. My primary role is in coordinating multidisciplinary teams of data, neuro and social scientists to deliver design projects driven by the emerging research in biomedical and computer science.
www.sonialitwin.com
Angela Vujic, PhD
Researcher and graduate of MIT Media Lab. She works at the intersection of computer science, neuroscience and design to develop biosensing technology for mental and emotional health.
Motivated by discoveries linking gut health to mental health, Angela sought to start a new area in her field coined gut-brain computer interfacing (GBCI). She developed and tested a GBCI that could enable individuals to sense and modulate their gut state, with the goal of connecting it to their mental wellbeing.
Previously, she completed her bachelor’s in computer science at Georgia Tech and was part of the GT BrainLab. She invented MoodLens, a novel fiber optic display integrated in EEG glasses, built to help individuals with severe paralysis express emotion via eye contact.
Angela is a NSF GRFP fellow. She has presented internationally, first-authored prestigious peer-reviewed publications, and won multiple awards for her work.
Team
Campbell Orme: Interaction Designer, Meta Reality Labs, London, UKDietmar Offenhuber, PhD: Associate Professor and Chair of the department of Art + Design, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Iulia Ionescu, PhD: Programme Director Creative Computing & Robotics ⊹ Artist & Technologist, University of the Arts London, London, UK
Technical Development
Ars Electronica Founding Lab 2024
The Founding Lab is realized as a Public Partnership between Ars Electronica Linz GmbH & Co KG and the Institute of Digital Sciences Austria and financed through funds from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research.
https://ars.electronica.art/university/en/