The Earth Eaters is a software-driven animated “fairy tale” that imagines the ongoing cycle of extracting raw materials from the earth to produce weapons of war. In response to the ongoing characterization of ecocide as “collateral damage,” the generative algorithms behind the work create an ever-changing environment that feature islands forming and disintegrating, a menagerie of animal species, and tiny miners relentlessly chipping away at the terrain. At times, gaudy golden human figures appear as monuments to their authority.  Machines of war—drones, tanks, and fighter jets—rise from the ground, intensifying the demand for further exploitation. These machines are textured to resemble the raw materials they symbolize, such as iron, gold, diamonds, and lithium. To construct these visual elements,  Zurkow and Schmitz used AI models trained on historical woodcuts and descriptions of mining sites from De Re Metallica (1556) by Georgius Agricola, recognized as the “father” of modern mining and a pioneer of geology. They also employed AI to produce variations of animal illustrations drawn from Historiae Animalium (mid-1500s) by Conrad Gessner, widely regarded as the first modern zoologist. Zurkow subsequently hand-animated all the assets generated by the models.

The Earth Eaters, 7 channel version

The Earth Eaters, single channel version

About the formats: A plinth/table, built from offcuts and found surfaces, resembling topography and scientific displays, supports the multi-channel work, which has a variable composition tailored to the exhibition space and is intended to resemble a folded-paper display. The single channel work will also be free-standing, supported by a similarly constructed small plinth that wraps around the work.

Special thanks to Alexander Klose for his thoughtful advice on Agricola.