an eye is an eye is an eye is an eye

In the animal world there is an infinite variety of eyes and vision systems, some capable of distinguishing types of light invisible to the human eye, while others can only see in black and white; still others can detect prey running miles away, while others struggle to distinguish their immediate environment accurately or are only sensitive to movement. Each species develops a visual interface with reality that is perfectly suited to its survival.

But how, wonders Damien Petitot, do machines look at us, at a time of an ever-increasing variety of devices associated with the rapid development of the so-called “computer vision”?

“Computer vision” is an artificial intelligence technique for analysing images captured by equipment such as cameras. For many, computer vision is the AI equivalent of the human eye and our brain’s ability to process and analyse perceived images. The neural networks generated by computer vision algorithms learn to link language and the world together, and as they learn they create identifiable patterns, areas of interest in images, and a whole series of criteria and characteristics that enable them to understand the world passing before their eyes.

The installation An eye is an eye is an eye is an eye hijacks the images generated by these ‘observing’ machines to turn them into the medium of a visual and poetic narrative, written in real time, questioning our ability to make sense of the visible, our perception of reality and our relationship to the imaginary.