Recognised as the world's first NFT by an artist using quantum computing, “Venuses (quantum bodies watched by Open Pose algorithm)” uses quantum data as a material basis for pluralizing and entangling human bodies in a series of venus poses, some taken from Western art history and others re-performed by the artist. The presence of art historical references and reenactments highlight how our bodies are shaped by culture as we re-perform the poses we have been culturally exposed to. The initial stills in each animation emphasize prejudicial biases in the way bodies are seen in fields of both AI and art history. The subsequent frames in the animations were then generated by manipulating the initial stills with Heaney's self-written quantum code, which, through entangled pixels, fragments and inverts the image in a way which would not be possible without quantum computing. As each animation progresses, we see the body from alternative, multiple perspectives—boundary-less and form-less, disrupting biased conceptions of the female nude.
Link to the NFT:
https://feralfile.com/artworks/venuses-quantum-bodies-watched-by-open-pose-algorithm-nwn?fromExhibition=reflections-in-the-water-9ov