Maja Petric is an award-winning contemporary artist who creates installations and sculptures using custom-developed new media. Since 2001, she has been creating artwork that seamlessly incorporates light and advanced technology such as AI. Her works aim to explore how our existence is interconnected, and she pushes the limits of emerging media to elicit these connections viscerally. Each of Maja's works starts by depicting the sublime elements of nature, intending to draw people in by evoking a universal and inherent connection with the environment. However, once immersed, the layers of her pieces reveal more challenging themes, encompassing depictions of mortality, interdependence, climate change, and collective action. We spoke with Maja about her clever practice and the role of art, data and AI.
1. How would you describe your artistic practice?
My work aims to evoke a sense of aliveness through the experience of interconnection, positioning human presence, nature, and technology as intricately intertwined forces that shape both individual and collective existence. Rooted in the tradition of immersive and generative art, my practice encourages audiences to reconsider their relationship with the natural world, revealing the often-invisible ties that link us across time and space.
Through large-scale installations and sculptures, I explore how technological progress intersects with ecological fragility, inviting critical reflection on the impact of human actions across temporal and spatial dimensions. My work builds upon the legacy of artists who have engaged with the sublime, using light, space, and environmental phenomena to evoke a sense of awe while interrogating the tensions between advancement and ecological responsibility.
At its core, my practice suggests that every technological development, every shift in the environment, and every moment of human experience resonate beyond the immediate, influencing both planetary equilibrium and the collective memory we construct.
2. Your series 'Specimens of Time' is such a powerful reflection on the effects of climate change, what makes art a powerful medium for engaging with our environment?
Art has the power to engage people on a visceral level, bypassing intellectual defences and evoking emotional and sensory experiences that leave lasting impressions. Specimens of Time captures the transformation of pristine landscapes, allowing viewers to witness both their beauty and fragility. By translating these environmental shifts into luminous, tangible sculptures, the work fosters an emotional connection that encourages deeper reflection on impermanence and loss. Unlike data, which can be difficult to process on a human level, art personalises these realities—turning abstract concerns into immediate, felt experiences that compel awareness and action.
3. 'We Are All Made Of Light' is such a powerful example of how AI and art can come together to increase connectivity - I'd love to learn more about the idea behind the artwork and your reflections on using AI in this way?
We Are All Made of Light is an interactive light installation that uses AI to transform visitors' presence into constellations of light, creating an ephemeral yet deeply personal experience. The concept originates from the idea that we are inherently interconnected—not just with one another but with the vast expanse of time itself. The installation links each visitor not only to those present in the space at the same moment but also to everyone who has stood in that same spot before them and to all who will stand there in the future. Through this, the piece embodies the idea that every individual leaves an imprint, contributing to a continuum of shared experience.
AI plays a crucial role in making this interaction dynamic and non-linear, allowing past presences to linger and interact with new visitors, forming a temporal web of light. This dissolves the boundaries between past, present, and future, reinforcing the notion that our actions resonate beyond the immediate, shaping both human connections and the environment we inhabit.
Rather than using AI as a tool for mere automation or simulation, I see it as a way to create living systems within my work—environments that shift and adapt in response to human presence. In We Are All Made of Light, AI serves as the connective tissue between different moments in time, revealing how every interaction leaves a trace and how collective presence accumulates over time. The result is an artwork that not only visualizes interconnection but also allows participants to experience it firsthand, making tangible the invisible threads that bind us across generations.
4. What interests you about working with data, generative systems and machine learning?
Data and generative systems allow for an alive artistic expression—continuously evolving, adapting, and responding to its environment. I am drawn to these technologies because they enable the creation of works that are not static, but instead change over time, much like natural ecosystems. Machine learning, in particular, provides new ways to translate environmental phenomena into art, allowing me to integrate organic patterns, movement, and unpredictability into my work. This approach not only deepens the dialogue between technology and nature but also creates experiences that feel dynamic and emotionally resonant.
Beyond its generative potential, data serves as a mirror of humanity—it reflects who we are, rather than who we aspire to be. It captures the realities of our world, from environmental shifts to societal behaviours, offering insights that are essential for understanding our impact on the planet.
5. How would you define the relationship between art and technology?
I'm interested in how tools shape creative expression and, in turn, how artistic vision reshapes the use of those tools. For me, technology is not the subject of my work but a means of expanding what is possible. It enables new ways of engaging with time, space, and interactivity, creating experiences that go beyond what traditional mediums can achieve.
At its core, technology can serve as a medium that expands material possibilities, enhances perception, and introduces generative systems that allow artworks to evolve. My work often employs AI, data, and interactive light to bridge the physical and the ephemeral, making the invisible connections between people, nature, and time tangible. These tools allow the artwork to exist in a state of flux, responding to environmental changes or human presence, reinforcing the idea that nothing is static—neither nature nor our relationship to it.
That said, technology is only as powerful as the intention behind it. While it can create immersive, evolving experiences, I believe that its true impact lies in how it is used to deepen emotional and sensory engagement.
