Welcome to Tardi, an uncharted jewel in a far and unknown galaxy, located in an uninhabited, little-explored, and lawless area of the universe. The nearest civilized outpost is the FAR 2 Space Station, a testament to how remote and mysterious this planet truly is. With five moons, large seas, high mountains, and dozens of climate zones creating hundreds of microclimates—many with extreme living conditions—Tardi is a world teeming with diverse environments and life forms.

source: Instagram

Join John Conrad Ephraim, interstellar zoologist, as he embarks on an extraordinary mission to document the unique and adorable fauna of this vibrant planet. In a future where humans and AI harmoniously coexist, his trusty AI companion, Athena, and John himself explore Tardi’s lush landscapes, uncovering its many wonders.

From the floating glimmering bun-like species that communicate through bioluminescence, through the playful, color-changing sort-of pups, to countless cute, creepy or mysterious livings, Tardi is a treasure trove of delightful creatures. As night falls, the area transforms into a glowing symphony of bioluminescent plants and the melodic calls of nocturnal creatures. Each discovery adds a new chapter to our understanding of this remarkable world.

Stay tuned as we dive deeper into Tardi’s mysteries, documenting the enchanting life forms that call this planet home.

source: Instagram

What’s that Tardi thing all about, you may ask rightly so. Let’s spill the beans and uncover the reality. Tardi is an AI-based creative project by Thiemo Kloss, a graduate of Berliner Technische Kunsthochschule and an artist working with photography and moving images. He combines traditional analogue techniques with digital processes to create unique aesthetics for his long-term projects, focusing on people and their constraints, society, and media.

Exhibited across Europe, the Middle East, and the U.S., with a solo exhibition at Nachtspeicher23 in Hamburg (2018). Thiemo has received several accolades, including the Marianne Brandt Award and the Canon Profifoto Grant.

To be precise, Thiemo is not a zoologist, but he shows a unique passion for discoveries. In an interview with Charis.ai, he mentioned that his adventure began with an unexpected genAI result while experimenting with tardigrade creations. Inspired by the historical figures Johann August Ephraim Goetze and Johann Conrad Eichhorn, the 18th-century zoologists who independently discovered tardigrades, Thiemo created the character John Conrad Ephraim. This fictional character is a distant relative of the original discoverers, continuing the family tradition of zoology.

Once this 233 years old zoologist gets to discover all the unknown Tardi’s species he is about to explore the universe even further, onto the HFMR – the most advanced civilization in the known Universe. Emerging from the development of the first AI, this civilization now includes robots, androids, machines, and humanoids. The HFMR rejects war, committing itself to progress and aid. It conducts research into pressing technical, philosophical, and humanitarian issues. Really looking forward to it! Go Ephraim!

source: web

What is Thiemo’s workflow?

“To create the Tardis I am using Stable Diffusion model 2.1, then run them through Magnific and for some corrections through Photoshop, then Runway for animations, sometimes with the brush, sometimes let it add motion randomly.

For the images of the Humanoid Friendly Machine Race (HFMR) or the zoologists, I also generate images with the 2.1 model first and then use these images as a reference for the generation with the SDXL model.

Depending on the images, I then let the text fall into place, which I write in German and have it translated by DeepL. Every now and then I ask ChatGPT something about certain characteristics in the animal kingdom, or have it write texts about the members of the SIZ based on certain specifications.”

source: web

What else is there? Well, a whole lotta world to discover! Join John Conrad Ephraim on his Tardi mission here.