The tree: AI generated image of an entity met by a participant in the psychedelic integration group
Trust the Medicine is a participatory artwork and 360 film featuring AI generated entities by artist Helen Knowles. The work considers what is at stake when psychedelic intelligences look after human health.
Can we go as far as to claim allyship with these entities, which constitute a form of more-than-human intelligence? Or is entity encounter just a projection of our internal dialogues?
Join us at Science Gallery London to experience elements of this interactive artwork, and hear a talk by Helen Knowles. Audiences will be able to engage in conversation with the artwork’s AI generated psychedelic entities as stand-alone characters, which are being developed in collaboration with design team, Metaobjects. Data will be gathered from these conversations and will impact on the narrative and aesthetics of the film.
Trust the Medicine is informed by Knowles’ artist residency with the Psychoactive Trials Group at King's College London, who undertake controlled clinical trials with psychedelics and related compounds such as psilocybin, 5-MeO-DMT and MDMA.
Knowles has also attended the Maudsley Integration Groups (IG) held for patients and users of psychedelics to come to terms with their psychedelic experiences. Trust the Medicine documents a staged psychedelic integration group, with real volunteers and led by a real psychotherapist, which focuses on the phenomenon of encountering entities associated with psychedelic drugs.
This event takes place in Science Gallery London’s Workshop. Drop in any time to interact with the AI generated psychedelic entities. Helen's talk will take place from 1.15pm - 2pm.
The artwork is being developed in collaboration with: Northumbria University, The Psychoactive Trials Group, King's, College London, MetaObjects.org, psychedelic integration group participants: Raquel Scheid, Alan Wildsmith, Eti Saltpeper, Ben Koppelman, Christina Nteventzi, Grant Foster, Andrea Khora , Muhammad Arif , Holly Birtles, Antoni Tashev and Nicolas Johnson, Ben Huss: Immersive Technologist and Niall Hill and the Public Anthropology department, UCL.