I’m excited that today is the launch of three new prints produced in collaboration with the INCREDIBLE team at graphicstudio at USF in Tampa. Here’ s the first one called The Churn.
Description of the project (from the graphicstudio website) for all three prints:
The Earth Eaters is a “fairy tale” about the process and consequences of extracting raw materials from the earth. Its algorithmically generated imagery cycles through floating, barren islands, animal inhabitants, and diminutive miners hacking away at the land, while golden, statuesque human figures appear as symbols of power and dominance. Monumental war machines, drones, tanks, and jets rise from the earth, wounding it and driving further resource extraction. Their textured surfaces evoke mined materials such as iron, gold, diamonds, and lithium.
To develop the imagery, Zurkow, in collaboration with James Schmitz, trained LoRAs (small artificial intelligence models) to generate weapons and islands inspired by woodcuts and mineable sites described in Georgius Agricola’s De Re Metallica (1556), an influential treatise on mining by a figure widely regarded as a founder of geology. She also used the models to create animal imagery inspired by Conrad Gessner’s Historiae Animalium (mid-1500s); Gessner is widely credited as the first modern zoologist. Oversized, watchful animals appear throughout the prints as witnesses to human exploitation, underscoring its impact on the natural world.
To translate the animated work into print, Zurkow sampled a digital composite from the original video and compiled two layers for printing: a primary background and a foreground of waves printed and collaged, referencing the 16th century column wave theatrical device to mimic movement. Using artificial intelligence, Zurkow generated variations of each weapon, animal, and statue which are incorporated in unique combinations for the edition variées. She then positioned these individual elements within the composition to serve as a guide for assembling the final prints.
The animals were printed on the same paper as the foreground, while the weapons and statues were printed on Stardream Gold paper. These elements were then hand-cut and collaged onto the background using dry-mount tissue, rendering the digital imagery using a tactile, analog process.
In this print, The Earth Eaters: The Churn, an ocean of sea creatures swims with the tide as “bioluminescent” gold flecks bubble to the surface. Together, the three works evoke what is at stake as ecologies evolve in response to human intervention and resource extraction.