To Be Is To Get Cut

2019 – Digital Installation, Real-time interactive simulation

To Be Is To Get Cut is a self-sustaining digital ecosystem where computational creatures called Piki Pikis Live, Love and Die, outside the constrains and norms of Human-centric AI. The installation consists of three complementary parts: The digital simulation, physical copies of all the code, a bestiary and the 3D sculptures of the creatures.

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Simulation

During the active sessions of the piece, the simulation runs continuously. All the entities will go through their life’s circle by mating, feeding on each other, reproducing and dying. The end result is a fungus-like, ever-growing ecosystem generated by their integrations and individual decisions. Each session is a completely unique and irreproducible landscape of life.

The installation also provides a series of tools that allow the viewer to manipulate the different creatures and their environment revealing the sociopolitical structures created by their actions.

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Installation

The viewer has the option to be either a passive observer or an active participant who can manipulate the experience. Right next to the installation, there’s a double-bottom box filled with details about each creature—like its name, type, and lifestyle—while the lower section contains the complete code that drives the simulation.

From the very start, this code has been crafted as a form of poetry, with each function mirroring the fundamental behaviors of humans and other social creatures that share their existence.

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Piki Piki Archive

Here is the full archive of all the Piki Pikis for you to explore.