Darwin’s computer scientist and Arrernte artist teaching humans and AI to pause and reflect
It was not until covid hit and he was diagnosed with POTS that artist Philly Kemarre started questioning his fast-paced life and was inspired to share his reflections through art.
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It is difficult to walk past the newest mural on Darwin’s Spain Place and not stop for a moment to take it in.
The swirling dot art spirals of vivid reds, yellows and purples alongside a coded firewall make for a vibrant and remarkable sight which has caused many to pause.
It is exactly the reaction, Philly Kemarre, the contemporary Aboriginal artist behind it, hoped for.
Bringing in his knowledge from Country and as an Arrernte artist and computing scientist, Philly explains how he brought these worlds together in his first mural for Darwin Street Art Festival to advocate for deeper thinking and reflection.
In a novel move, he even created a specialised generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) prompt to test it.
Covid-19 and unexpected diagnosis forced Philly to slow down
As a computer scientist and former technology consultant for a Big Four firm, Philly knows the fast-paced cycle of deadlines and stress.
But when covid-19 hit, he was forced to slow down and started to delve more into art.
The child of two Aboriginal artists, Philly said he had been an artist since he was six.
But it was only after covid-19 and working as a ranger on country that Philly said he really started to “connect the dots”.
Particularly after he was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) – a condition which affects the nervous system – which forced him to slow down even more.
At one point, he would faint anytime he tried to stand up.
Rather than the condition becoming a barrier to his career, the 28-year-old said studying healing, turning more to his art and embracing the added slowness to his life, helped to regulate his nervous system.
“I take my breath seriously,” he said.
“I’m conscious about my breathing, and when I’m blinking.
“I’m trying to be present in the moment, because presence is the only real thing in this world.
“Bridging everything I’ve learned and walking in both worlds from all the technical STEM related stuff and all the cultural stuff, I had this massive awakening.
“And it was connecting all these patterns that I never knew could connect.”
Humans and AI ‘need to learn to ask ourselves better questions’
Looking back on his time working for a big firm, Philly said it was easy to get stuck in stressful and “reactive” patterns that leave little time for reflection.
“Are you really bringing your spirit to work, or are you just working blindly, to get money and to survive?” he asked.
“But there’s other ways to do that and Indigenous ways teach and preach that.
“What is there we’re really trying so hard to reach?
“We’re trying to spiral outwards while we’re not spiralling within ourselves.
“We need to ask ourselves better questions. Reflect more deeply and honour our breath.”
Using a mix of his computing knowledge and a song and story passed down from his grandfather, John Cavanaugh, a senior Arrernte Elder in healing medicine, Philly said he was emphasising this need for deeper thinking in his mural.
But it is not just humans he is addressing.
With the rise of AI, a lot of people are concerned with how the technology is being used. Philly however said he is not caught up in the dangers but rather in how it works.
He said, the technology has been built by logical and linear people and cultures whereas a lot of Indigenous and neurodivergent people, such Philly who has ADHD, follow different thinking patterns.
If the technology was given more a diverse input and taught how to reflect and understand processes such as emotional recursion, Philly said it could work differently and perhaps, solve some of the issues.
To properly explore this, Philly has included in his mural an algorithm which he developed into several personalised GPTs.
Instead of trying to predict behaviour, Philly’s algorithm teaches the system to pause, listen and measure reflection.
“I’ve worked on that theory and algorithm based on that, and it’s all embedded in Indigenous knowledge,” he said.
Philly to display work in Melbourne
As a result of his unique and inventive work connecting multiple cultures and industries, the Darwin artist is set to exhibit his “biggest piece yet” in Melbourne in August as part of an exciting project.
“Art is not just a tool or a way to escape the world,” he said.
“It’s a way to help bridge the gap between Indigenous knowledge and Western knowledge and because I’ve walked very extensively in both worlds, [I have] a lived experience.”
For now, Philly hopes his mural in Darwin’s city centre helps convey the depth of meaning behind Aboriginal art and that people viewing his work, resonate with it in some way.
“It’s not about understanding it in a way that you think you need to comprehend it,” he added.
“It’s about feeling it. That’s where your healing journey starts.
“What I’d like for people to take away is our law, our Aboriginal art is so much deeper and it deserves more appreciation than what it receives.
“Because it’s not just beautiful in the aesthetics.
“It tells so much about our life and we’re getting a lot of scientists that are starting to really understand that now and bridge those gaps and understand the power of Indigenous knowledge.
“And with the embedding of the code, it’s to make people realise you can actually implement it realistically across all mediums.
“If you follow this structure if you honour breath, ceremonially reflect, you can break the cycle.”
To find out more about the mural or Philly’s artwork, follow his Instagram page @remk.void or go to: https://linktr.ee/remk.void
Philly’s mural is one of 25 to be painted during Darwin Street Art Festival which is running until June 15.
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