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The Large Nature Model: Coral series, which is on display at the United Nations headquarters in New York during the Leaders’ Summit (24.09.21 - 09.28), is also being exhibited at 100 poems(Gallery 4) of FUTURA SEOUL. This exhibition during the UN General Assembly marks another symbolic and significant moment of recognition for Refik Anadol's work, which fuses art with scientific and technological innovation. His work plays a crucial role in raising our collective responsibility to protect the natural world, delivering a powerful message and calling for action.

This video introduces the extensive data collection process by Refik Anadol and his studio members. To understand the Earth's ecosystem we inhabit, Refik Anadol and his studio members investigated 16 tropical rainforests worldwide over approximately two years. During this process, they collected over 500 million natural images, 400 hours of sound, 3D data scanned with LiDAR sensors, and nearly 500,000 scent molecules. Collaborations were established with prestigious institutions including the Smithsonian Institution and Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It took two years to acquire this data and nearly another year to classify and organize it, ensuring ethical and official data preparation.

These vast datasets were then trained into the Large Nature Model (LNM), an AI model developed by Refik Anadol Studio. LNM is the world's first open-source generative AI model specialized in nature. The artworks in Galleries 2-4 showcase these AI-driven visions of nature through media art, as dreamed by LNM.

Living Archive: Large Nature Model (LNM) is an immersive, multisensory artwork in a growing body of work created using the LNM. It is the longest continuous generative AI visualization on nature to date. The installation offers vibrant AI simulations of the world’s rainforests through a multi-channel sound, video, and scent experience, immersing viewers in the heart of rainforest flora, fauna, and landscapes. The uniqueness of the canvas for this work is a data tunnel, where these visuals and narratives simulate the scientific research process behind the exhibition and embody the theme of "being surrounded by data," a central concept in Anadol’s artistic representation.

“The wind shows us how close to the edge we are,” writes author Joan Didion. And it’s true—the wind often feels strongest when we’re standing on the threshold of change. The faster we move to push the limits, the more we feel the world shifting around us.

Winds of Seoul is the latest artwork in Refik Anadol Studio’s Wind AI Data Sculpture series, part of the studio’s long-term research into blending cutting-edge technology with constantly evolving artistic expression. Using real-time API weather sensors placed throughout Seoul, Winds of Seoul collects data on wind speed, direction, gust patterns, and temperature to create dynamic, fluid motion aesthetics. This artwork visually translates the interplay between the environment and the city in a unique and mesmerizing way. Designed specifically for Seoul, the piece aims to connect its audience to the often-invisible natural patterns that shape the urban landscape.

Artificial Realities: Pacific Ocean is a series of AI Data Paintings that transform the wind forecast data collected from the Pacific Ocean over the past five years into an aesthetic experience. For this one-of-a-kind artwork, Anadol and his team processed publicly available datasets shared daily by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Forecast System (GFS) numerical weather prediction model. Anadol and his team harnessed the dataset through machine learning algorithms and turned it into pigments, creating a series of dynamic visual poems that evoke a sense of fluidity and constant change.

In the final exhibition hall, "100 Poems" (Gallery 4), the "Machine Hallucination (2024)" series is displayed across three screens, showing images that appear as if machines are hallucinating and dreaming of nature. The side screens showcase artificial reality images of plants, animals, landscapes, and coral created by LNM. Simultaneously, the center screen displays an abstract painting-like piece created by LNM "hallucinating" the images shown on the side screens. This innovative attempt is being presented for the first time in an Anadol exhibition.

Machine Hallucinations — LNM: Flora utilizes millions of floral images to create an unprecedented fusion of art and science. It serves as an homage to the complex and varied biological functions of plants, blending authentic color palettes with data-driven visualizations through the capabilities of AI. It underscores the importance of ecosystem conservation in sustaining our world, emphasizing how cutting-edge technology can aid in documenting and appreciating the rich diversity of plant life.

Machine Hallucinations — LNM: Fauna is a captivating artwork by Refik Anadol Studio that specifically focuses on the animal kingdom, utilizing a dataset comprising over 400 million public images related to fauna, alongside elements of nature's vast panorama. It offers a revolutionary reinterpretation of our digital recollections of wildlife, illuminating the beauty and diversity of fauna to celebrate and elevate our collective appreciation of nature. It is not only a dynamic, visual artwork but a thought-provoking piece that invites viewers to ponder the critical importance of wildlife conservation.

Machine Hallucinations – LNM: Landscapes utilizes a comprehensive collection of around 155 million public landscape images collected and curated by Refik Anadol Studio. It employs the Large Nature Model to create representations of landscapes and colors as envisioned by AI, training a custom model with segments of this vast image and sound archive. Each piece in the series showcases a selection of these AI "hallucinations," with Anadol choosing among countless algorithmically generated landscape impressions that emerge from his collaboration with AI.

Machine Hallucinations — LNM: Coral offers mesmerizing visualizations of an extensive collection of coral imagery. This Data Sculpture, showcased at the World Economic Forum 2023, draws inspiration from marine ecosystems and the critical condition of coral reefs. Harnessing around 100 million coral images as its foundational dataset, it underscores the need for coral preservation and sustainability. Through this initiative, Anadol aims to highlight pressing environmental concerns by crafting a simulated oceanic habitat.

*The Large Nature Model: Coral series, which is on display at the United Nations headquarters in New York during the Leaders’ Summit (24.09.21 - 09.28), is also being exhibited at 100 poems(Gallery 4) of FUTURA SEOUL. This exhibition during the UN General Assembly marks another symbolic and significant moment of recognition for Refik Anadol's work, which fuses art with scientific and technological innovation. His work plays a crucial role in raising our collective responsibility to protect the natural world, delivering a powerful message and calling for action.