Soul Haven : KIEYA 116 (Landscape Display)

KIEYA is a collection of animated island spirits that are revived through the exchange of life. Employing generative artificial intelligence techniques, the collection tells an otherworldly science-fiction narrative extrapolating on a future techno-utopia. The story begins in the year 7292. In this future Earth, books and physical forms of stories have become extinct. One day, a small meteorite lands in the ocean. Future humans discover that the meteorite contains particles of an advanced alien technology. Sparking a cyber-cultural revolution, the future ancestors use their discovery to create an artificial intelligence that ushers in not only a rebirth of storytelling for the world but also new methodologies for reviving art and creative visual expression. The collection is inspired by Nygilia's grandmother's German Shepherd 'Kieya', who protected her outside while playing as a child. Kieya was like a guardian, enabling Nygilia to explore the world and learn with a safe and benevolent companion. Throughout the collection, Nygilia employs her uniquely magical use of character creation, rooting the viewer's experience in a rich exploration of posthumanism through the lens of Afro-Caribbean futurity.