Blending creativity with machine learning processes to uncover new modes of storytelling

Performance Assistant Professor Debashis Sinha (opens in new window)  recently unveiled his latest ongoing creative work, currently on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art  (external link, opens in new window)  (MOCA). The Lightbox Installation will be open to the public throughout the fall, alongside a series of video works titled Saṅkhyā Stories: Machine Learning Fables that explores the relationship between art and artificial intelligence.

With a background spanning decades in the arts and theatre communities, Sinha has dedicated his life to his craft. His scholarly, research and creative interests span the sonic arts, theatre, storytelling, sound design, machine learning and artificial intelligence tools and music production. Sinha began his teaching career at The Creative School in 2019 and has taught various courses, including Special Topics in Sound and Introduction to Sound Design at the School of Performance.

Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence

Sinha’s first commissioned work at MOCA was a site-specific sound installation titled in the house’s endeepened wide gracious flow in early 2022; a work that combined speculative mythology with processes derived from a blending of machine learning, sonic art, and audio composition. 

Building on this theme, his newest exhibition, currently on display on the exterior lightbox, blends Sinha’s unique creative perspective with artificial intelligence. Titled Sure ye of bliss, of children, give us here to she who worships | o the beautiful sky, the impressive work cladding the exterior of the museum was created with a series of text-to-image neural networks. A unique form of art generation and meaning-making that relies on the programming of a series of algorithms that are trained in large data sets. 

After allowing the program to train for enough cycles, the algorithm can produce new patterns and outputs based on the data sets it was trained on. In this case, using a series of texts sourced from the Rig Veda (an ancient Indian collection of Sanskrit hymns), Sinha interrupted this process multiple times to generate the outputs that he then collaged to create the final work. The results are nothing short of mesmerizing. An energetic composition full of life that serves as an expression of Sinha's rich cultural heritage.

Utilizing some of the same techniques, Sinha’s series of video works, Saṅkhyā Stories: Machine Learning Fables, also on view at MOCA, came about the same way using text-to-video and text-to-sound machine learning processes. Paying tribute to the creative process, the titles of each work are named after the text input originally used to train the neural networks. What makes Sinha’s creative process so interesting is the fact that he frequently and abruptly interrupts the training process, leading to unique, novel and poetic results. 

By utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning processes, Sinha has created a wealth of work that makes light of unique and transformative means of creation. 

Pairing passion with a lifelong curiosity 

Sinha’s penchant for sound began at an early age by experimenting with drumming, leading him to work with master drummers from various world music traditions and his curiosity to develop novel modes of thinking and ways in which sound and storytelling intersect. 

“Whenever I encounter a new technology, sound or process of working, I take inspiration from this idea that's been embedded in me from a very young age where stories were such a huge part of my own cultural identity,” remarks Sinha. “The thing that's pulled me through music and sound has been a curiosity, a kind of questioning of what happens if I experiment with certain ideas.”

Alongside his ongoing research relationship with MOCA, Sinha was recently the recipient of a DORA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Design for his work on R.U.R A Torrent of Light, and was nominated for the Louis Applebaum Composers Award administered by the Ontario Arts Council. 

Want to check out Sinha's mesmerizing new installation? Visit MOCA (external link, opens in new window)  for free on Fridays and see all of his creative work on his website (external link, opens in new window) .

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