The songbook, recordings, and installation were multilayered in their aural, visual, historical, and geographical references, and were also suggestive of the ways present and future technologies might, like rituals of the past, create and preserve meaning. The AI model used to create the hymnal music in the songbook, for instance, was trained on the 18th century Sacred Harp Repertoire which made its way from the British Isles to New England and the American South. The manner of Herndon and Dryhurst’s choir recordings was inspired by ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax’s 1959 tour documenting folk music of the American South. Exhibition objects and imagery referenced modern technology and a range of older ideas, from the divine symbolism of wheel chandeliers to the mysticism of Kahlil Gibran. Through the visual art and sound, Herndon and Dryhurst created a profound meditation on human connections within communities and across time. Their work presented itself as a proposition for the ways in which AI can nurture collective activity and creativity, if not augment the transformation from the individual to the collective itself

Known for their pioneering work in music, machine learning, and “protocol development,” Berlin-based artists Holly Herndon (US) and Mat Dryhurst’s (UK) expansive practice has led to precedent-setting projects where the technical systems that underwrite creative output are artworks unto themselves. The duo develop their own technology, and protocols for living with the technology of others, often with a focus on the ownership and augmentation of digital identity and voice. These technical systems not only facilitate expansive artworks across media, but are proposed as artworks unto themselves. They were awarded the 2022 Ars Electronica STARTS prize for digital art. They have sat on ArtReview’s Power 100 list since 2021. 

Holly Herndon holds a Ph.D in Computer Music from Stanford CCRMA; Mathew Dryhurst is largely self taught. They have held faculty positions at NYU, the European Graduate School, Strelka Institute and the Antikythera Program at the Berggruen Institute. They publish their studio research openly through the Interdependence podcast, and recently co-founded Spawning, an organization building a consent layer for AI. Their critically acclaimed musical works are released through 4AD.