A.I. Campfire is a dark, immersive experience led by Symbiolene, an A.I database-turned-host born from the lost Green Men who conjures memories of Scotland’s spirits, like Selkies and Kelpies. Through haunting and vivid audiovisuals evoking tales of gentle warnings and broken covenants, audiences are enveloped in an otherworldly atmosphere where folklore turns into valuable teachings that will help preserve their bond with nature. Programmed to learn from ancient ecosystems to build a balanced future, Symbiolene interprets these tales as reminders that nature has memory, and that when the earth is pushed too far, its spirits may seek vengeance.
Created by Vanesa Kelly and Ian Garrett
Venue 13 – Edinburgh
Through A.I. Campfire and its central character Symbiolene, Garrett and Kelly explored a Tri-Nominal Framework that brings humans, technologies, and nature into reciprocal relationship rather than hierarchy. Drawing from ecoscenography, they describe creation as a living system—co-creative, celebratory, and circular—where materials, energy, audience, and media are inseparable .
The work engages cultural heritage as ecological memory. From Indigenous agricultural systems like the Three Sisters to European foliate heads and Green Man carvings, the team connects ancient relational practices to contemporary AI. These traditions once synchronized with the rhythms of soil, weather, and migration; their reactivation through performance is both an act of remembrance and design foresight .
