Garden of Aether is a variable lettering commissioned by Adam Centko in 2022. The lettering was used digitally as a title animation for the installation, on the custom-built PC case and interactively on the project website.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Garden of Aether is a real-time computer simulation in which non-playable characters (NPCs) autonomously interact with a digital environment. Every generation of the characters builds a new audiovisual sculpture. The autonomous cameraman observes and documents this whole process. Building the sculptures consumes resources and the computer temperatures increase, while the digital environment becomes more polluted. Every generation ends with a run to the fire exit and gets replaced by the same behaviours.
“Garden of Aether” is a simulation artwork that combines 3D aesthetics, game engine mechanics, and sound by Slagwerk Den Haag to create a conceptual narrative dealing with sustainability and reflecting on the invisible infrastructures that fuel the digital environments.
Adam intended to create a new kind of moving image, one that will be ever-changing and never the same, but also keeps moving image structure and has a beginning and end. The medium of a computer simulation is about giving up control and actively becoming an observer. The confined digital landscape and the physical hardware give the viewer a unique perspective that draws analogies from the world around them. The mechanics of the simulation are inspired by the Anthropocene. As long as the characters keep producing sculptures and altering the natural environment, the temperature will keep on rising. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the characters are programmed to do. The sculptures that the NPCs build are not only visual, but each one also contains a sonic element designed by Frank Bink, a member of SDH. These sonic elements populate the landscape and are accurately delivered to the viewer using a quadriphonic speaker setup. Each new sculpture introduces a new sample, creating a cacophony of three-dimensional sounds. The landscape then becomes both visually and sonically saturated. The project is developed in Unreal Engine 5. The 3D assets have been created using VR sculpting, Blender, and Substance Painter. The hardware is placed within a custom-built PC case, which has been laser-cut from an aluminum sheet and then bent into the shape of a rib cage.
YEAR
2022
COMMISSIONED BY
ADAM CENTKO
VARIABLE LETTERING
1 AXIS
3 SOURCES
