Hypereikon are a generative artistic duo comprised of María Constanza Lobos and Sebastián Rojas. Hypereikon’s work opens up new ways of thinking about our relationship with technology and nature. Their mesmeric practice blends naturalistic elements with surreal, post-natural textures, creating evocative, dreamscape-like visions. We spoke to Hypereikon about how the digital and organic are coming together through generative systems, real-time creation and AI.
1. Are there particular themes you enjoy exploring with your pieces?
We're deeply fascinated by the intersection of the digital and the organic. Our work often delves into what we call 'speculative nature' - imagining how our understanding of ecosystems might evolve in this increasingly digital world. We love exploring the blurred boundaries between natural processes and algorithmic ones, creating digital landscapes that feel both synthetic and strangely familiar. There's also a strong thread of reimagining our cultural heritage through this technological lens.
2. How do you balance your artistic vision with input or suggestions from the AI?
It's really a dance of extended imagination. We often talk about it as an 'imaginative prosthesis' that extends our creative capabilities. We have our artistic vision, of course, but we're also deeply interested in what emerges from the AI's 'latent space' - those unexpected connections and forms that we couldn't have conceived on our own. It's about finding a balance between guiding the process and allowing ourselves to be surprised by it.
3. From your perspective, what are the broader implications of the use of AI in art?
AI in art is really pushing us to reconsider fundamental notions of creativity, authorship, and even consciousness. It's challenging the romantic idea of the artist as a lone genius, suggesting instead a more distributed, collaborative model of creation and ideas. But beyond that, we believe AI art has the potential to expand our perceptual capabilities, allowing us to visualize and engage with complex systems and ideas in new ways. It's not just about making pretty pictures - it's about expanding the boundaries of human imagination.
In what ways is the landscape of contemporary art evolving as a result?
We're seeing a shift towards more process-oriented and generative forms of art. There's also a growing emphasis on interactivity and real-time creation. But perhaps most importantly, we're seeing the emergence of new aesthetic paradigms, it's not just about mimicking existing styles, but about discovering entirely new visual languages. And of course, there are ongoing debates about authorship, originality, and the value of AI-generated art in the market. It's a really dynamic and sometimes contentious space.
4. What does the next decade look like for AI and art?
We expect to see even deeper integration of AI into the creative process, with more sophisticated models that can engage with more complex concepts and contexts. We're particularly excited about the potential for AI to help us visualize and interact with complex systems - ecological, social and economic. We also anticipate more exploration of embodied and spatially-aware AI in art installations and performances. But alongside this, we expect - and hope - to see more critical engagement with the ethical and philosophical implications of AI art. It's crucial that we don't just get swept up in the technological possibilities, but really grapple with what it means for our understanding of creativity and consciousness.
5. What is it you hope viewers take away from your work?
Above all, we want our work to provoke a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world we're moving into - this hybrid space where the digital and the organic are increasingly intertwined. We hope viewers come away questioning their preconceptions about what's 'natural' and what's 'artificial'. There's also a strong element of cultural reimagining in our work - we want to invite viewers to consider how our Latin American heritage might evolve and express itself in this digital future. Ultimately, we hope our work opens up new ways of perceiving and thinking about our relationship with technology and nature.
