“Tree With City In Distance: Evolution of an AI Sketch” is a presentation of a unique body of work.  The exhibition consists of 500 stunning works of art, each of which is derived from a single image. The original image, a simple black-and-white sketch of a tree in the foreground with a city skyline in the distance, underwent a process of AI (Artificial Intelligence) evolution, creating a “genetic” lineage of images, all with one common ancestor. Initially, four children (variations) of the original image were created by the AI software, each sharing the majority of traits with their parent image, but each having unique traits of their own, much like siblings in a human family would. Each of these children then had four offspring of their own, with each of the offspring sharing the traits of their parents, but with “genetic” variation among the siblings. This process was repeated for over a hundred generations, with the artist, Erin Banwell, choosing which images would reproduce, thus acting as the determining factor of who is fit to reproduce, and whose genetic lines will end. Erin Banwell spent more than 40 hours at the computer, manually creating the evolutionary process, one individual work at a time. Each artwork was then individually printed by the artist onto ceramic tiles, a laborious process considering the scope of the exhibition.

The resulting body of work, taken as a whole provides a unique view of an evolutionary process, and each piece, taken individually, is a stunning image in its own right. Take a step back, and each unique piece of art has its own place, and its own context among its siblings, parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents, cousins, and so on.  Clear evolutionary branches and family lines appear and develop, with huge variations from other branches, yet all share a familial bond, and a common visual look, even as the content of the images morph completely away from the original tree and city, becoming a series of flowers, a series of flowing fabric images, and more before returning to the original tree and city theme.

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Prepare to be amazed by this ambitious and thought-provoking exhibition which touches on current trends in art and technology, while simultaneously charting a course based on the same process of evolution from which life itself originated.  Find the individual image among the crowd of images that resonates or represents you the most. Are you the “black sheep” in your family, your lineage, or your culture, or are you a spitting image of your ancestors from 2 generations ago? Each of the 500 unique ceramic tiles will be for sale at a very low cost, to encourage viewers to connect with and take home an individual image from the exhibition.

The gallery exhibition’s opening reception will be held from 11 am to 3:30 PM and is part of the May 7th “Orange St Block Party” event which includes offerings up and down Orange St in Chico. Included in the festivities are Idea Fab Labs, Maker Radio 94.5 FM, The Chico Art Center, Orange St Consignment, and Sparkle Studio Productions.

Admission is free!

All ages are welcome!

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