SPIRITS is a browser based public artwork by john gerrard which centers on four world oceans alongside 100 lost or discarded plastic sandals and shoes found by the artist on their shores. These were carefully photographed in-studio and used as inputs for neural networks to become dense gaussian splats. These image objects, placed into world engines allow users to transform through digital touch a morphing, dynamic, fluid layer that calls tipping points both cultural and ecological: petroleum iridescence, hyper gloss, acid house legacies, oceans, bleeding oceans, wildfires and finally a charred void, whilst a generative score unfolds alongside. An online exhibition was developed with Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Art + Tech Lab and premiered initially as a front page takeover of lacma.org over 24 hours on Winter Solstice 2025 followed by Spring Equinox, March 20th 2026. Subsequent takeovers happen during Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox 2026. The work is exhibited on lacma.org across 2026 as a solo exhibition. SPIRITS is divided into four classes of 25: SPIRITS (Pacific) #0 - #24, SPIRITS (Indian) #25 - #49, SPIRITS (Mediterranean) #50 - #74 and SPIRITS (Atlantic) #75 - #100, each with their own shifting petro-aesthetics and generative scores. SPIRITS moves john gerrard’s works in offline executable files on the physical landscape into the network as a form of global public art. SPIRITS holds within it three configurations: an auto loading mobile version and an auto loading desktop version. Augmenting the works URL with ?archive=true loads a large scale institutional version which is designed for large screens and / or environments of very high fidelity. Following the LACMA presentation the work moves to sim.stream/spirits alongside private and public presentations.
Credits (Indian Ocean)
Producer + R&D: Werner Poetzelberger, Programmer: Helmut Bressler, Generative Sound Producer: Jonas Hammerer, World Engine: Babylon.js, Sound Engine: Tone.js, Smart Contract: 0xfff
Interaction
Move : Press and drag
Transform : Press upon the object
Clear Transformation : Sun icon to bottom right
Toggle Audio : Speaker icon to bottom left
Toggle Fullscreen : Press upper right screen corner
Toggle Automatic Rotation : Press upper left screen corner
Keyboard Hot Keys
A - Toggle Audio
S - Clear transformation
R - Automatic Rotate off / on
F - Fullscreen on/off (ignored on iOS)
O - Zoom in
P - Zoom out
M - Hide / Show icons (in window mode)