Autogenesis Echoes: A Generative Ontology of Synthetic Beings

This digital installation presents a living catalog of 19, semi-biological, semi-drawn entities that explore the interplay of evolution, deception, and emergence. Each creature exists as a discrete yet interconnected node within a lineage of transformations, embodying the principles of recursive mutation and adaptation. Each entity is shaped by its predecessor and contributes to a perpetual cycle of morphogenetic flux. These beings, pulsating with organic patterns yet confined within digital frameworks, evoke a paradoxical sense of vitality and constraint. Drawing on the theoretical scaffolding of material philosophy and computational aesthetics, Autogenesis Echoes invites the viewer to question the ontology of “life” in synthetic environments. Are these forms merely simulations, or do they signify a new modality of existence—one shaped by the hybridization of biological principles and machinic agency? _What is real and what is virtual? The virtual is not opposed to the real when these entities are plugged into this objective dimension inhabiting the actual world. As an immersive experience, the installation traverses temporal dimensions of being and becoming, with soundscapes, and motion echoing the microscopic and the cosmic. Each creature becomes a reflection of its precursors, a palimpsest of generative histories etched into digital flesh. The viewer is invited to contemplate their role within this speculative ecology, a reminder of humanity’s evolving entanglement with artificial lifeforms.

machines_of_desire
Machines of Desire is a multidisciplinary artistic practice explored by Valentina Farantouri about the intersections of speculative thought, digital media, and architectural experimentation. Her work navigates the uncanny, where machines are not mere tools but autonomous entities with their own evolving syntax—blurring the boundaries between the organic and the synthetic. Her immersive installations, unravel fluid material systems, emergent life forms, and shifting ontological landscapes. By exposing the logic of desire as a means of evolution, she constructs parallel realities where matter, memory, and technology exist in perpetual transformation.