From August to November 2021, Amay Kataria was an Art & Technology fellow for a collaborative residency organized by BeFantastic. The theme of the residency revolved around Climate Change and Machine Learning and was divided into three phases: BF CoLab (primer in latest artistic tools in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning), BF Dialog (a collaboration with artist mentors to develop a new project), and BF Showcase (an online exhibition of a final project). For the final project, Amay Kataria led the concept, software architecture, and creative direction of The Lost Passage and presented it as part of the BF Showcase.
The Lost Passage is a digitally reconstructed environment of a swarm of artificial passenger pigeons, which went extinct in the early 20th century. As a sociable flock, they once grew to a population of over 5 billion in the 1800s before going into extinction within four decades due to human intervention. In their new digital home, they inhabit a never-ending, sublime, yet destitute memory of a lost landscape. However, on closer inspection they are actually confined within the four walls of this space. The Lost Passage reflects upon the historical moment of the Passenger Pigeon’s holocene extinction by using artificial intelligence and machine learning to resurrect a memory of a lost passage, thus evoking a sense of being trapped and confined through the sublime imagery.
