Artist News

The Backyard of Weird Creatures

As the Mobilise/Demobilise project comes to an end, other artists are discovering UpStage and making their own performances in the platform. One of these is “The Backyard of Weird Creatures”, by the Brazilian multimedia artist Daniela Souza.

“We are rebels, strangers to all forms, colours, and times. We shatter perfection, embracing the cyborg body, dualized between the physical and the non-physical. We are the revolution, the new philosophy.”

Four enigmatic beings emerge in a chaotic backyard. Only the promise of rain holds the key to liberating them from their neutral stasis. The Backyard of Weird Creatures unfolds as a 26-minute cyberformance presented on Upstage Live, to be presented on 26 May 2024 at 9:30am NZ time (find your local time here), at the Aotearoa Digital Arts Symposium.

Crafted from the outputs of Chat GPT-4, DALL·E 2.0, Runway AI, and Plugger AI, the live performance delves into the realm of generative AI. It asks whether Artificial Intelligence is a tool, an agent, or an active force in the creative process. Leaning into the imperfections and glitches of AI generated material the performance seeks to birth art from birth art from the peculiar and the unattractive.

Daniela Souza is a multi-artist from Brazil, currently pursuing a Masters in Communication Sciences at NOVA University, Lisbon, Portugal. Souza has presented video performances at web festivals including Fora Dali and Lux Noctis Festival. Joining the performance will be Natália Macedo and Karina Senise.

Backyard of Weird Creatures