By: Lenka Hamosova
A ritual for exploring posthuman intimacy—through clay, writing, and multimodal generative AI.
Description of work:
Clayborn / Tuning In is a tactile meditation and speculative interface by artist Lenka Hamosova that explores the possibility of nonverbal communication between humans and artificial intelligence. Rooted in somatic experience, the project invites participants to engage in a wordless dialogue with a ball of clay—imagined as an alien intelligence—and to translate this embodied encounter through writing and generative AI tools. Rather than aiming for fidelity or output, Clayborn / Tuning In proposes a workflow of sensory translation, where meaning shifts, dissolves, and re-emerges across material and machinic boundaries. Hamosova’s work questions how we might co-create with AI when we do not share the same language—nor the same body.
https://hamosova.com/tuning-in
Quotes:
When language fails, other forms of intelligence begin to speak.
Embodied experiences resist perfect translation – and that resistance is where the artwork happens.
This isn’t a search for understanding – it’s a choreography of misunderstandings that make something new possible.
Exercise:
You’ll need:
- A piece of soft modeling clay (roughly palm-sized)
- A quiet, undisturbed space
- A device to play audio (optional)
- Pen and paper or digital note-taking
- Access to generative AI tools (optional, for later steps)
Step 1: Prepare the space
Find a calm, private place where you won’t be disturbed for 10-15 minutes.
Hold the ball of clay in your right hand. Close your eyes. Focus on the sensation.
Step 2: Play the meditation (optional but recommended)
Play the original Clayborn meditation and follow the voice guidance.
Let it lead you through tactile exploration.
Alternatively, if not using the audio, move to the next step and guide yourself through it.
Step 3: Engage in tactile conversation
- With eyes closed, feel the clay in your right hand. Notice its temperature and texture.
- Place your left hand on the clay and begin to explore it with your fingers. Don’t try to shape it—just follow your curiosity. Let your hands move freely.
- Imagine the clay as a form of intelligence—non-human, unknown, but sentient.
- Now, finally, let your fingers shape the ball of clay in any way. Let your body “speak” to it through movement, pressure, warmth.
Step 4: Observe the result
After 10–15 minutes, stop and open your eyes. Observe the form your hands have shaped. Ask yourself:
What does this object express? Can you see traces of your interaction with the clay? What feels missing? What feels deeply present? What did the process evoke in you?
Step 5: Reflect in writing
Immediately write down your impressions. Don’t filter or edit—just write whatever comes. Let your hand continue the communication that began through clay. Use full sentences or fragments—anything is valid.
Step 6: Begin the translation process
Try to “translate” your subjective embodied experience into the digital realm. You can use the clay object or the writing as a starting point for digital exploration (for example: photograph or scan the clay object, describe the object or the experience in words, draw the object or your sensory experience of it). Use these materials to prompt generative AI tools (text-to-image, image-to-text, text-to-sound, image-to-video, etc.)
Step 7: Think in workflows, not one-to-one translation
Don’t try to capture the whole experience in a single AI prompt. Translate across mediums and tools—clay object to image, image to sound, writing to visual, etc. Observe how meaning shifts or distorts through each translation. Allow the process to evolve. Let some things be lost, and others appear.
Step 8: Final reflection
Ask yourself:
What changed when I translated my embodied experience into digital form? What was lost—and what new meanings emerged? Was it possible to co-create with AI in a meaningful way? What does this tell me about the limits and potential of nonverbal communication across bodies and systems? Is it even possible to co-create with AI, if we don’t share the same embodied reality?