The lovechild of Alan Turing and Donna Haraway,  NatureCulture CAPTCHA is a crowd-sourced data visualization exploring how we categorize objects of the Anthropocene. On a computer screen, participants will be given a randomized image from a preselected library. Users will push one of two buttons to sort that image into either “nature” or “culture.” Once sorted, the image will appear on one of two larger screens, slowly creating two collaborative collages throughout the exhibition. The initial inspiration for the image sorting system came from the popular Turing test known as CAPTCHA. CAPTCHA tests seek to ask questions with only one correct answer: Select all the images of birds. However, reality is not so binary. Our project uses this internet language to make things less certain, not more. We intend to demonstrate the fluidity of nature/culture categories and ask viewers to reflect on how these constructs impact their worldviews. For example, how would one sort an image of a dog show? A golf course? A campsite? Living in the Anthropocene requires imagining new relationships between ourselves and the non-human world.

NatureCulture CAPTCHA was made in collaboration with Chris Copeland.