Circadian Nocturne, 2023

Anna Ridler’s Circadian Nocturne (2023) is a multi-screen installation that tells time through AI-generated animations of night-blooming flowers. It is part of the artist’s ongoing investigation into time and technology, which highlights the paradox between precise timekeeping methods of computers and the inaccurate imagery produced by artificial intelligence. Mirroring this tension, the artwork paces the blooming process of ‘imprecise’ flowers against the accuracy of modern clocks.

Visitors are greeted by a dreamlike garden of nighttime flora, including moonflower, night-blooming jasmine, night phlox, and evening stock, dislayed on screens. These AI-generated synthetic plants shift and morph, blooming at night like their natural counterparts. In the digital world, however, the flowers substitute their biological clock with artificial systems that control our contemporary lives.

The artwork invites viewers to contemplate non-human ways of keeping and understanding time, inspiring them to slow down and reflect on ancient natural rhythms.