Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Butterfly Effects: Digital Artist Uses AI to Engage Exhibit Goers

25/05/2023

For about six years, AI has been an integral part of the artwork of Dominic Harris, a London-based digital artist who's about to launch his biggest exhibition to date.

I use it for things like giving butterflies a natural sense of movement, said Harris, whose typical canvas is an interactive computer display.

Using a rack of NVIDIA's latest GPUs in his studio, Harris works with his team of more than 20 designers, developers and other specialists to create artworks like Unseen. It renders a real-time collage of 13,000 butterflies - some fanciful, each unique, but none real. Exhibit-goers can make them flutter or change color with a gesture.

The Unseen exhibit includes a library of 13,000 digital butterflies. The work attracted experts from natural history museums worldwide. Many were fascinated by the way it helps people appreciate the beauty and fragility of nature by inviting them to interact with creatures not yet discovered or yet to be born.

AI is a tool in my palette that supports the ways I try to create a poignant human connection, he said.

An Artist's View of AI Harris welcomes the public fascination with generative AI that sprang up in the past year, though it took him by surprise.

It's funny that AI in art has become such a huge topic because, even a year ago, if I told someone there's AI in my art, they would've had a blank face, he said.

Looking forward, AI will assist, not replace, creative people, Harris said.

With each performance increase from NVIDIA's products, I'm able to augment what I can express in a way that lets me create increasingly incredible original artworks, he said.

A Living Stock Exchange Combining touchscreens, cameras and other sensors, he aims to create connections between his artwork and people who view and interact with them.

For instance, Limitless creates an eight-foot interactive tower made up of gold blocks animated by a live data feed from the London Stock Exchange. Each block represents a company, shining or tarnished, by its current rising or falling valuation. Touching a tile reveals the face of the company's CEO, a reminder that human beings drive the economy.

Harris with Limitless, a living artwork animated in part with financial market data. It's one work in Feeding Consciousness, Harris' largest exhibition to date, opening Thursday, May 25, at London's Halcyon Gallery.

Booting Up Invitations Before the show even opened, it got extended, he said, showing invitations that went out on small tablets loaded with video previews.

The NVIDIA Jetson platform for edge AI and robotics features prominently in the event and has become a bit of a workhorse for me in many of my artworks, he said.

An immersive space in the Feeding Consciousness exhibit relies on NVIDIA's state-of-the-art graphics. Three years in the making, the new exhibit includes one work that uses 180 displays. It also sports an immersive space created with eight cameras, four laser rangefinders and four 4K video projectors.

I like building unique canvases to tell stories, he said.

Harris puts the viewer in control of Antarctic landscapes in Endurance. For example, Endurance depicts polar scenes Sir Ernest Shackleton's expedition trekked through when their ship got trapped in the ice pack off Antarctica in 1915. All 28 men survived, and the sunken ship was discovered last year while Harris was working on his piece.

Harris encounters a baby polar bear from an artwork. I was inspired by men who must have felt miniscule before the forces of nature, and the role reversal, 110 years later, now that we know how fragile these environments really are, he said.

Writing Software at Six Harris started coding at age six. When his final project in architecture school - an immersive installation with virtual sound - won awards at University College London, it set the stage for his career as a digital artist.

Along the way, NVIDIA was a name I grew up with, and graphics cards became a part of my palette that I've come to lean on more and more - I use a phenomenal amount of processing power rendering some of my works, he said.

For example, next month he'll install Every Wing Has a Silver Lining, a 16-meter-long work that displays 30,000 x 2,000 pixels, created in part with GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs.

We use the highest-end hardware to achieve an unbelievable level of detail, he said.

He shares his passion in school programs, giving children a template which they can use to draw butterflies that he later brings to life on a website.

It's a way to get them to see and embrace art in the technology they're growing up with, he said, comparing it to NVIDIA Canvas, a digital drawing tool his six- and 12-year-old daughters love to use.

The Feeding Consciousness exhibition, previewed in the video below, runs from May 25 to August 13 at London's Halcyon Gallery.
LINK: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2023/05/25/ai-artist-dominic-harris/...
See more stories from nvidia

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

06/04/2026

Fab Five' Reunion Drives TNT and CBS's Experimental Final Four Altcast Built on REMI Workflow

Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...

06/04/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Optikka CEO Daniel Evans on Scaling Sports Content with Programmatic Graphics

From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...

06/04/2026

Quickplay and TwelveLabs Join AWS Business Outcomes Xcelerator Program

Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...

06/04/2026

Grass Valley Launches Future Playmakers Program for Students in Sports Production and Media Technology

Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...

06/04/2026

SVG All-Stars: Raasean Robinson, Gerente de Posproduccin y Operaciones de Estudio, FOX Deportes

El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...

06/04/2026

SVG All-Stars: Raasean Robinson, Manager, Post Production and Studio Operations, FOX Deportes

The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...

06/04/2026

Behind The Mic: SiriusXM Shares 2026 Masters Broadcast Team; ESPN to Produce Over 140+ Hours of Masters Live Coverage

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

06/04/2026

NHL Opens Innovation Lab in Partnership with Verizon, New Jersey Devils

The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...

06/04/2026

ESPN+ To Stream Inaugural Rock League Curling Season

Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...

06/04/2026

ASG Appoints Andrea Cummis as VP of Systems Design and Engineering

Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...

06/04/2026

Source Media Group Launches Source Golf, a Creator-Driven YouTube Network Targeting Next-Gen Fans

Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...

06/04/2026

How the NHL's Innovation Lab Will Take Broadcast, Fan, and Team Tech to New Heights

With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...

06/04/2026

K-Pop Artist ENHYPEN Host The Blood Diary,' a New Video Podcast Series From HYBE

Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...

06/04/2026

From Audio to IRL: How Let's Get Haunted' Is Building Community With Spotify RADAR

As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...

06/04/2026

FSK Audio update Bark24 Dyn

Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...

06/04/2026

IK Multimedia introduce ToneNET Preset Sharing

Share official & user-created full-rig presets IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...

06/04/2026

Baseball 2026: More AI, Better Viewing Choices

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

06/04/2026

JB&A Announces Details for its Pre-NAB 2026 Event

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

06/04/2026

Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026

Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026 Brie Clayton April 6, 2026 0 Comments Dalet, a leading technology and...

06/04/2026

OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show's West Hall

OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...

06/04/2026

Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026

Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026 Brie Clayton April 6, 2026 0 Comments Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...

06/04/2026

Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026

Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026 Brie Clayton April 6, 2026 0 Comments Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...

06/04/2026

Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Show 2026

Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...

06/04/2026

Re-Architectured PCC Software Streamlines and Enhances the Full High-Speed Imaging Workflow

Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...

06/04/2026

Tribeca Studios And Lilly Announce Winners Of Inaugural Vital Stories Filmmaker Program

April 6th, 2026 TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...

06/04/2026

Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App for Games, New Shows & Returning Favorites

Back to All News Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...

05/04/2026

Latest SoundBridge update now live

Tackles all reported bugs! SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...

04/04/2026

Don't Be Lame: Arizona Men's Basketball Social Team Aims To Catch the Attention of Wildcats Fans

The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...

04/04/2026

HDR Makes Its Men's Final Four Debut as CBS Sports and TNT Sports Collaborate on New Camera Tools and an IP-Powered Compound

1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...

04/04/2026

Fab Five Reunion Drives TNT and CBS's Experimental Final Four Altcast Built on REMI Workflow

Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...

04/04/2026

Flock Audio's latest Patch App DX update

Faster, cleaner and more intuitive than ever The control software for Flock Audio's digitally controlled patchbay systems has just been treated to an up...

04/04/2026

Sinclair to FCC: Broadcast Sports Drives Investment in Local News

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/04/2026

Study: Worldwide Telecom Capex to Decline in 2026,

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/04/2026

Ateme Delivers Full End-to-End Streaming Platform to Moldtelecom

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/04/2026

FCC Plans Spending, Regulatory Fee Revenue Reductions in FY 2027

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/04/2026

DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP Core

DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP Core Brie Clayton April 3, 2026 0 Comments The accompanying image shows the rear panel of the ...

04/04/2026

Macnica Redefines ST 2110 Flexibility with Two Speeds on One Card

Macnica Redefines ST 2110 Flexibility with Two Speeds on One Card Brie Clayton April 3, 2026 0 Comments New for NAB Show 2026, MEP100 SmartNIC now sup...

04/04/2026

Unified Media Workflows for Story-Centric Production

Unified Media Workflows for Story-Centric Production Brie Clayton April 3, 2026 0 Comments Framelight X unifies field capture, editing and publishing ...

03/04/2026

TNT Sports and CBS Sports To Reunite Michigan's Iconic Fab Five' for Special NCAA Men's Final Four Altcast on truTV and HBO Max

Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...

03/04/2026

NAB 2026: Avid To Showcase Content Core and AI Workflow Innovations

Avid will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Booth N2226, Las Vegas Convention Center), demonstrating its Content Core platform and new AI-driven workflow c...

03/04/2026

MRMC Appoints Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer

Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has announced the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer. The announcement follows MRMC's transition fro...

03/04/2026

Elite Media Technologies Selects Interra Systems' BATON for File-Based QC

Interra Systems has announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its BATON file-based QC solution for media workflows. Elite Media Technologies speciali...

03/04/2026

Moldtelecom Deploys Ateme Technologies Across Full Streaming Workflow

Ateme has announced that Moldtelecom has deployed Ateme technologies across its streaming workflow, covering encoding, delivery, operations, and analytics. Mol...

03/04/2026

NAB 2026: Grass Valley To Demonstrate Framelight X Content Management

Grass Valley will demonstrate Framelight X, its content management platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform connects capture, ingest, editing, and publishing in...

03/04/2026

NAB 2026: Encompass Digital Media and Techex Launch Cloud-Based Master Control Service for Live Events

Encompass Digital Media and Techex have announced a cloud-native Master Control ...