Studio Above&Below is a London-based art and technology practice founded by artist duo Daria Jelonek and Perry-James Sugden. Their work combines digital art and data in order to draw together unseen connections between humans, machines, and the environment. Combining research and generative systems, their practice uses AR, XR and AI to create innovative artworks and data sculptures which push the boundaries of digital media for future living and environmental awareness.
Entangled Landscape is a meditative mixed reality experience augmenting invisible collaborative life of soil in the form of a digital sculpture. The artwork focuses on bringing visibility and awareness to the networks and exchange of resources occurring in soil at a microscopic level, investigating mutualistic and collaborative behavior across different industries, natures and cultures. It materialises into an audiovisual installation which allows the audience to encounter two neural networks trained on mutualistic interactions, inspired by mycorrhizae and nurtured through environmental live data from the South West Flanders area in Belgium, which enables or disables their collaboration. The project is the result of an art and science collaboration between soil scientists, city planners, data analysts and games engine experts exploring themes such as soil sealing, soil biodiversity, mutualistic behavior between fungi and roots, and computational Machine Learning simulation systems.
Entangled Landscape was developed in the framework of Repairing The Present a S+T+ARTS residency hosted by Cleantech Hub Snowball and GLUON in partnership with the intermunicipal organisation Leiedal. The residency aimed at exploring how we might revive the built spaces with the help of digital technologies, to facilitate new sustainable and inclusive economic, social and cultural activities in the region of South West Flanders in Belgium.
