here_be_dragons

Memories of Qilin

by Emily Xie

Here Be Dragons...

Memories of Qilin is the first ArtBlocks project by Emily Xie and was released as part of the Curated Season 6. The name allures to it's inspiration from east-asian folklore and art. Qilin is a mythical creature often likened to unicorns or dragons. They are a power of good that guards the innocent and punish the wicked.

In her project, Emily Xie leans heavily into the power of the human mind to find meaning in shapes and compositions. Through nothing but chance and a cleverly constructed system, Memories of Qilin is abound with mythical beings, just waiting to be discovered.

Perhaps most well known of these creatures is the roaring lion. It commands respects and attention that an algorithm with such a vast output space ends up giving birth to such a magnificent beast within its 1000 iterations..

There are of course more creatures hiding among the 1000 pieces for those that are willing to see beyond the intricate patterns and intersecting shapes. Not all are as obvious, but the allure of the output is also the ambiguous multiplicity in interpretations that presents itself to the viewer.

What do you see above?

It is important to recognise that while these creatures are prevalent, their presence is not hard-coded into the algorithm. However, the system lends itself so well to pareidolia (i.e. imposing meaning in disparate signals), and together with the aesthetic choices and the mythology imposed by the collection name and description it leads the mind towards recognising them.

When the pareidolia fails, the system still feels so organic that you get the feeling that something is there. To me, the above three pieces are Water Spirits — shapeshifting and flowing and part of rivers and oceans.

Pareidolia is an interesting thing to observe in oneself as you can see your mind tuning into whatever suggestion of motif others make. A piece can literally change before your eyes without altering in the slightest.

What do you see to the right?

I see a warrior woman, a Ronin, standing defying and resolute facing you, her cape and hair twisting in the wind...

Do you see it now?

I see a storm looming over a hillside, still catching the last rays from a sun that must soon recede behind the clouds

Do you see it now?

Let me know what you see so I might glimpse into your mind.

So I might feel the universe take a roll and never be the same.

Imagine if Rorschach tests were this beautiful?

What kind of mind they would reveal...