The Naturalis Biodiversity Center installs an interactive and evolving video wall

'Origins of Imagination' is an interactive and dynamic project by Dominic Harris, in which visitors to this center in the Netherlands participate in the creation of a digital collection of butterflies, that grows and transforms in real time, and displayed on a touch Led video wall.

Designed by London artist Dominic Harris for him Naturalis Biodiversity Center from the Dutch city of Leiden, Origins of imagination It is a unique visual project of until, technology and nature, in which visitors are invited to co-create an ever-evolving digital collection of butterflies, which is shown in a High definition LED video wall, of 8×2,5 metros.

Inspired by the drawings of the children of Charles Darwin in his manuscript The origin of species, Harris celebrates in this interactive visual work “the wonder and innocence of human expression”, in which children and adults can participate and explore the world of butterflies through their own creations.

As Harris explains, “Darwin's theory of evolution was about change and adaptation over time.; this digital artwork reflects it, constantly evolving with each new butterfly drawn by visitors”.

Visitors contribute by drawing their own butterflies, what transform and come to life through advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning, and which become part of a constantly growing digital collection that is displayed on a large interactive screen custom designed for the center.

Each butterfly is connected to a digital ecosystem, which allows the digital work to be in constant evolution. Besides, Visitors not only see their creation reflected on the screen, but they receive their original drawing with a QR code y, as Harris points out, “prolong the life of the work with a personal and educational legacy that can be shared in the classroom”.

Smart learning

To launch this work of digital art, The in-house AI team at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center has collaborated with Harris to combine their development tools with custom databases to offer an interactive experience to each visitor.

In this sense, have been developed machine learning systems to transform visitors' drawings into dynamic, animated butterflies, that they use custom algorithms to offer a visual harmony of the flight paths and the arrangement of the colors of these beautiful insects.

This great Led video wall, in which visitors' creations are displayed, It also has touch and motion sensors, with real time updates, to make the user experience with each butterfly creation as interactive and immersive as possible, “connecting the natural world and the imagination of each person”.

This is what Harris says.: “This ever-evolving work of art celebrates how imagination can transform things.”. Reflects the principles of evolution: each new contribution transforms the collective work. Through co-creation in this living digital ecosystem, We not only explore the limits of human creativity, "But we also emphasize the importance of preserving the delicate balance of nature.".