Limbo - 2022
NFT gif
Rebecca Allen, one of the earliest pioneers of digital art, created one of the first examples of a 'gif-like' animation loop in 1979. In 1981, as she continued her study of human motion, Allen created an artwork that was the first ever example of a female 3D computer model in motion. This study has continued to her most recent experiments using novel AI software, now she wants to enable AI driven computer models to learn to move like humans - to teach AI to be more like humans.
Limbo reflects on the current state of humanity. We see a female model, wearing a hazmat suit and mask, caught in a futile, endless loop - unable to make any real forward progress. A great analogy for how we all feel at the moment. We are in 'limbo', a sort of purgatory where we aren't going anywhere and covid itself feels like a perpetual trap. But the animation is also optimistic because she keeps trying, as we all must keep going.