Biophilia

Biologist E O Wilson suggested that ‘biophilia’ describes ‘the connections that human beings subconsciously seek with the rest of life’. Rooted in our evolutionary history, biophilia acknowledges our deep-seated connection with the natural world and an innate affinity for other living organisms.

For almost the entirety of human existence, our ancestors maintained a profound, intimate connection with the natural world, a perspective that transcends mere survival. In their worldview, animals were considered people, equals in the intricate tapestry of life on earth: a sacred, interconnected realm. In a world now dominated by humans, agriculture, urbanisation and technology, the lost understanding of nature as a living entity has given way to exploitation and environmental degradation.

’Biophilia’, an AI art project, transcends the boundaries of reality to paint fictional images of wildlife, illuminating the expanding gulf between humanity and the natural world. Through the fusion of human creativity and machine learning, the artwork weaves hallucinations into the fabric of surreal, fictional animal portraits. They act as visual metaphors which question our fractured relationship with the wild world. Through biophilia, we are attracted to the animal in art, and recognise and continue to feel affinity through our shared history, albeit through an increasingly distance and distorted, man-made lens.