Caroline Stedman Mishra - Resonance

Resonance is an ongoing experimental collaborative project which uses AI and emerging technology to imagine a new religion based on animistic cultures, Gaia hypothesis and transpersonal & ecopsychology, with the goal of using Art and technology to re-enchant humans with their natural environment in order to catalyse change in a time of climate crisis.

Resonance premiered at G5A Foundation as part of the Eyemyth Presents series, Mumbai, India on the 21st December 2024, featuring an interactive art exhibition, artist talk, AV ritual performance, music ensemble and aerial dance.

India-based British New Media Artist and curator/director Caroline Stedman Mishra conceived the project during the 2024 Eyemyth/Unbox Labs Artist residency in Goa. “Resonance began as a date – Winter Solstice. We were given the opportunity to put on a series of shows at the fantastic G5A Foundation in Mumbai and one coincided with the 21^st December – an important date in the Pagan calendar.”

“I had already been working on a series of thought experiments around using AI for good. The first project and one which is still in development was Catius B, where I aimed to ask the question ‘is AI inherently good or bad, and if AI is the culmination of human knowledge and creativity, can we find out the age old-lord of the flies question; are humans inherently good or bad? I did this by creating a superintelligent race of alien cats named ‘the Felinids.’ I didn’t prompt the AI to make them either good or bad, just super-intelligent. As it turned out, the cats were really, really good. They were entirely wholesome in every area of their culture, spirituality, approach to their natural environment etc. They were basically what we strive to be as humans in a utopian world.”

“This led me to explore further how we can learn from AI and ultimately gain insights into ourselves and our potential. I am a tech optimist and I believe technology has the power to save the planet so I wanted to demonstrate how technology need not separate and distance us from the natural world, as so many years of capitalism and patriarchal religion has done, but tech can actually enable us to connect with our environment and thus protect and nurture it.”

“So I used AI to create a new, nature-based religion, training the model on NASA scientist James Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis, dozens of academic papers on nature-based religions, from my own Celtic Paganism through to Native American Indian beliefs as well as thesis on transpersonal and eco psychology. Resonance was born and using the AI model I created all the mythology, music, hymns, artwork, fables and ritual practices around the imaginary deities born out of Resonance. The art was combined with nature-based photography works by Parizad D and illustrations by Optikbloom.”

“The work culminated in a show which featured an interactive exhibition of artworks, all linked by QR codes to sections on the website displaying guided meditations, short films and music videos or more information allowing the audience to deep dive into the world of Resonance. The show began with a performance-ritual where a high priest(ess) character was played by two non-binary performers Osheen and Musiq, symbolising light and shadow. They took us through a ritual whereby the audience wrote things down that they wanted to close a cycle on and expel from their lives. The ‘ritual resonators’ then spoke about the Dark Mother deity- the fertile darkness from which all of creation springs from, and the importance of embracing the shadow to find the light. The ceremony concluded with packets of seeds and a poem written for the occasion ‘The Turning Year’ by renowned poet Priya Malik. The audience were told to go home and plant with the seeds their intentions for the coming year and what they want to welcome into their lives.”

“The show culminated with an aerial dance performance and live electronic music from PIR and Anuj Deo, live percussion from Anand Bhagat and live throat singing and beatboxing from MC Eucalips with live visuals from myself featuring animations of works from all contributing artists in a fitting celebration to bring in the new lunar year.”

“We also built an infrasound generator based on a design by Sarah Angliss – a machine which produces sound below the human range of hearing which is reported to enhance emotional and religious experiences, to deepen the experience of the show.”

“We hope to continue the Resonance project and bring it to Arts Festivals, Spiritual gatherings, Art Galleries and unconventional spaces on auspicious dates and collaborating with more artists, musicians and performers who are inspired by nature in their work. The accompanying and ever-growing collection of audio-visual works are available all year round for audiences to explore via our website below. My hope is that by reconnecting people with nature and inspiring awe and wonder around the natural world using science and technology, we can build a better future of all inhabitants of the beautiful planet we call home.”