ITERA ACANTHUS
2024
The "acanthus" plant, a common sight but rarely recognized. The acanthus leaf decorates countless government, religious and cultural landmarks around the world. It's visible on column capitals, friezes, corbels, bookends, furniture, ancient manuscripts, serif fonts, frames, jewelry and even paper currency. Most notably on the back of the American dollar. For thousands of years this leafy motif has proliferated but also evolved in meaning from a representation of immortality and power - to death and sin. It's an ornament of extremes and evolutions.
THE MYTH
The myth of how this plant first crossed over from the natural world was recorded by Vitruvius (Roman Architect and Engineer) who wrote about the site of an ancient tomb that had become consumed by an acanthus plant. The scene of overgrown leaves and roots inspired a Greek sculptor, Callimachus of Corinth, who observed the tomb change through the seasons in order to craft what became the stone "Corinthian" column in the 5th Century BC. The act of sculpting the acanthus leaf and mirroring it en-masse through architecture was seen as a symbol of human-ability to harness and ultimately conquer nature.
"Itera Acanthus" is a re-imagination of this architectural myth. A simulation of histories and conquerings between past, present and future. Here, the architectural column becomes a scaffolding for the "Acanthus" to reveal itself across 3 distinct eras; Nature, Human and Machine. In some timelines the plant re-emerges naturally, in others the stone ornament becomes consumed by circuits and wires. Each generation is a trade-off between the life of one iteration and the death of another. As a series, IA asks the collector to elect a position on the timeline. They must choose Nature, Human or Machine. How will the Acanthus evolve?
BUILT WITH KOJII
Kojii is an AI lab for creatives, powered by Eden and the Avalanche blockchain. Within kojii, artists can design their own generative AI models by assembling a LoRA and customizing a front-end interface for the public to engage with. Collectors can use artist models to generate a unique artwork and then ultimately decide to mint it as an NFT.
Human, Context, 1
Machine, Column, 1
Machine, Context, 2
Nature, Column, 1
