Pierre Huyghe's UUmwelt at Serpentine Gallery Translates Brain Activity into Images

Pierre Huyghe's exhibition UUmwelt at Serpentine Galleries in London (until February 10, 2019) presents an ecosystem that blurs the line between living beings and objects. Collaborating with neuroscientist Yukiyasu Kamitani of Kyoto University, Huyghe used fMRI scans of people viewing or thinking about images, then employed an AI software to decode brain activity into moving images displayed on large LED screens. The exhibition environment is deliberately inhospitable, with dusty floors from sanded paint and a population of flies that continuously breed. Huyghe's statement, 'I want to show someone to something,' reflects his aim to shift perspective from human-centered viewing. The project adds to the growing artistic exploration of AI, contrasting with other AI art trends like Christie's auction of an AI-generated work. UUmwelt (a variation on the German word for environment) proposes showing humans to things rather than things to humans.