In this work from Carla Gannis, we see an avatar ‘Lady Ava Interface’ emerging from the “holodeck” to greet people as they enter Gannis’ virtual wunderkammer (the precursors to museums). This artwork from Gannis playfully invites viewers to explore layers of meaning– from imagining new futures for historical figures like Lady Ada Lovelace (1815–1852), celebrated as the first computer programmer, to revisiting the origins of museums, and reflecting on emerging technologies of power like Augmented Reality and Artificial Intelligence.
The animated AR sculpture appears on top of PAMM’s logo, adorned with patterns generated by Gannis’ AI trained on images of video games. Lady Ava Interface beckons visitors in, and the interior of the cabinet pulses with stunning animations. Visitors can peek into the wwwunderkammer portal for a glimpse into Gannis’ immersive world that contains a collection of collections, an archive to come.
About the artist
Carla Gannis is an interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, New York. She produces works that consider the uncanny complications between grounded and virtual reality, nature and artifice, science and science fiction in contemporary culture. Fascinated by digital semiotics, Gannis takes a horror vacui approach to her artistic practice, culling inspiration from networked communication, art and literary history, emerging technologies and speculative design.
About the curator
Kelani Nichole is a technologist and founder of an experimental media art gallery called TRANSFER based in Miami, FL. She has been exploring decentralized networks and virtual worlds in contemporary art for over a decade. Currently she is building a new cultural organization as Head of Experience at E.A.T_WORKS, and advising artists and institutions on Web 3 strategy.
