YUN MI HER

Exhibition views from Space Flat, Seoul

The current and most searched keyword 2021/07/21 7PM : Grocery

The current and most searched keyword 2021/07/27 7PM: United States

The current and most searched keyword 2021/07/27 11PM: Otters

Autopia 00:60:00
real-time generated animation, collecting online image-data with machine learning, 2021

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Autopia 00:60:00 is a real-time generated animation that automatically updates every hour using the images of the most searched keyword on an online search engine. The animation visualizes the current and most searched keywords and displays the here-and-now aspect of our online communication. This piece consists of three major parts: high-resolution image-data collection, image extraction from the background and data visualization through stochastic image arrangement. The system uses machine learning and a game engine. The images that appear on screen, regardless of their relevance to the search keyword, gradually dissipate and eventually disappear within 60 minutes. The temporal interest of the public is transformed into the process of birth and extinction. The audience may unexpectedly find images that seem unrelated to the search query. Such mutant images are the results of a newly acquired and unique perspective about the digital world that is distinct from the tangible world. This piece suggests the need for a new attitude towards the digital ecology and questions how we should navigate our identity between the present society and the digital system.