ARE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND SINGING GOING TOGETHER?
The northern branch of the Serpentine Galleries presents the very first solo exhibition by the Berlin-based duo Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst. A sublime and fascinating installation, tackling the subject of artistic creation and artificial intelligence through the prism of song.

AI is a recurring theme in exhibitions at the Serpentine Galleries. Today, the London institution is evoking it through the works of Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst, staged in the presentation The Call. The Call is based on a database of vocal data collected from choirs throughout the UK. It's a singular combination of human and machine voices, allowing visitors to participate.

According to Herndon and Dryhurst, AI should be seen as a "coordinating technology". As they explain, "For millennia, group singing and associated techniques [...] have been rituals of mass communication, enabling us to construct spaces and structures for gathering, processing, transmitting information and creating meaning in social and civic life."

To give birth to their work, the artists composed a collection of hymns and singing exercises. This was performed by 15 choirs and captured by a multi-channel recording protocol as part of a collection tour in spring 2024, from Belfast to Leeds, Bristol to Beith and many other cities. The aim of the ensemble is to show how AI can enhance the power and artistry of the voice, but also to consider "new cultural, legal and technical methods needed to build AI systems collaboratively and ethically". "With The Call, we propose a beautiful way to use AI. We're looking at how the data is created, how the model is trained, but also how the resulting work is revealed," explains Holly Herndon.

As for the material and physical aspects, the duo called on the services of Studio Sub, headed by Niklas Bildstein Zaar, to design the exhibition's main room, which greets visitors on arrival.

Dressed in immaculate white and gleaming gold, the room takes on the appearance of an instrument, like an organ from both the past and the future, equipped as it is with fans used to cool graphics processing units. At its center is a brass plate, engraved with the figure of a child blowing an ancient wind instrument. Behind it is one of the AI models trained for the occasion. A second work, called The Wheel, inspired by the candlesticks found in pious places and evoking divine light, symbolizes here the various
captations of singing in the UK. Finally, the most impressive part for the audience remains the section hosting The Oratory. Confronted with a fresco, still adorned in white and gold, visitors are invited to improvise at the microphone, so that the AI responds with a song. A gripping and disconcerting experience.

" HOLLY HERNDON AND MAT DRYHURST: THE CALL"
SERPENTINE NORTH GALLERY
WEST CARRIAGE DR, LONDON (ENGLAND)
UNTIL FEBRUARY 2, 2025
SERPENTINEGALLERIES.ORG