Viewing Anicka Yi: In Love With the World

Currently floating around Tate Modern’s cavernous Turbine Hall are Anicka Yi’s family of AI pod creatures, called aerobes. Based on ocean like forms and mushrooms, the translucent helium-filled organisms are programmed to respond to the space and the people around them. Yi hopes her new kind of ecosystem will encourage visitors to think about new ways machines might inhabit the world and to evaluate our connection to our environment.

The New York-based artist, who is best known for her experimental work exploring the merging of technology and biology, has also created unique ‘scentscapes’ which change weekly, with odours linked to a specific time in the history of the area surrounding Tate Modern. Expect the aroma of spices (thought to counteract the Black Death in the 14th century), marine scents from the Precambrian period as well as the smell of ozone and coal smoke from the Industrial Revolution.

In Love With the World is heavy on the concept but provides, as expected, an instant experiential hit. Yi had big shoes to fill but she has more than made her mark.