The Genetic Narrative
Evolutionary Perspective
Academic Work
This experiment tries to illustrate or illuminate the process of genetical evolution in a simple yet visually attractive way.
A custom made application running live during the exhibition, ran a highly simplified genetic algorithm tied in with both a personality and a visual engine showing the discarded mutation data as abstract graphic images.
The created <em>beings</em> had a simple goal, to recreate a famous text chosen at their <em>birth</em>. Since parts of the process are tied into the DNA of the beings they don't always succeed with recreating the text and a surveillance system keeps track of their progress. If the being doesn't meet set quality requirements after a specific amount of time or shows limited to no progress it is discarded and a new being with a new personality is born.
The beings can also succeed with their task and would then... <em>retire</em>.
During the graduation exhibition of eight days over 4000 beings were born, died and documented in a <em>graveyard</em> that the application displayed before the creation of a new being.
To strengthen the concept that the being is alive the visitor also has the possibility to execute a being. Something some visitors almost took a too favourable liking to.