At the center of Isabel Beavers’ “Hex Hexa: forget nothing, have no dreams” is artificial intelligence; the title itself is a playful reference to the technology’s functions and limitations. As AI becomes more capable of remembering and responding to us, Beavers’ exhibition asks why we place so much faith in it.
“We relate to AI almost like it’s a divine power,” Beavers said. “We don’t fully understand it. We put a lot of faith in it.”
“Hex Hexa,” which opened at the Pitzer College Art Galleries on Sept. 19, combines ancient Greek mythology, copper mining, nature and modern computers. Beavers, a transdisciplinary Los Angeles-based artist, uses the exhibit to explore questions about humanity’s relationship with technology and question the role of AI in society.
Beavers developed this work as Harvey Mudd College’s Hixon-Riggs Early Career Fellow. Across the gallery, digital film, game-engine simulations and 3D animation sit alongside physical pieces, including a steel hexagonal fountain, 3D-printed lights, water sculptures and prints on stainless steel. Beavers utilized multiple forms of technology in their work, though they did not use AI-generated images, choosing instead to create visuals themselves.
Our interactions with AI, Beavers said, are increasingly personal: from studying with AI bots to turning to ChatGPT for therapy. Drawing a connection between these relationships and how people have historically turned to gods and oracles for guidance, the artist envisioned “Hex Hexa” working like an oracle.
“I’m not really telling anyone what to think,” they said. “I hope it’s opening people’s minds to think for themselves.”
That connection between technology and religion grew out of Beavers’ earlier work researching copper mining in Cyprus. There, they encountered Kypris, a historical Cypriot deity who was first associated with the protection of copper, and later became tied to the Greek goddess Aphrodite. Since copper remains an essential component of building electronics, Beavers saw a connection stretching from ancient religious practices to today’s devices.
“There’s actually a really direct link between who we now know as Aphrodite and all of our computers, because copper is an essential metal that is used in any computational device,” they said.
“There’s actually a really direct link between who we now know as Aphrodite and all of our computers, because copper is an essential metal that is used in any computational device,” they said.
At the same time, Beavers’ exhibit is not only interested in thinking through these connections, but also asking the question of what the comparison between AI and deities reveals.
“[This comparison] explores deeper questions about who we are, what we do believe in and how these larger power structures that we’re all part of influence the environment and people,” they said.
Jenny Miyasaki, engagement and communications specialist at Pitzer College Art Galleries, noted that Beavers’ philosophy of blending transdisciplinary and multimedia aligns with Pitzer’s approach to learning.
“We all sometimes love [AI] and sometimes hate it,” Miyasaki said. “This show also has a complicated relationship with it.”
Questions surrounding AI are already integrated into everyday life, she said. From debates about using it in classrooms to questioning whether images online are real or generated, AI is becoming deeply embedded in society.
“[Beavers’ work] shows that what we’re going through isn’t exactly new. Everything is cyclical in some way, and everything we’re doing now will have an impact on the future,” Miyasaki said.
For Miyasaki, the exhibition’s impact is reflected in the time that visitors spent lingering in the gallery.
“I have never seen students engaged in a gallery for as long as they have been [here], and to me that’s thrilling” Miyasaki said. “I can’t ask for much more than for students to actually sit in an art gallery that long and to watch.”
One student visiting the exhibit, Leah Tovar PO ’27, thoroughly enjoyed “Hex Hexa,” especially finding it interesting that the gallery was “bathed” in a copper color.
The exhibit included a video presentation depicting the form of Aphrodite, whom Tovar interpreted as a representation of the earth itself, particularly the copper and other natural resources extracted to sustain AI.
“Just like the fact that if we take [Aphrodite] to be a representative of the earth, that you know the way that we’re using these metals and all of these precious resources to fuel AI, then that’s kind of a violation of the earth in a sense,” she said.
Though the exhibit emphasizes the importance of earthly resources, “Hex Hexa” does not ask its viewers to abandon technology. Instead, Beavers invites us to find out what lies behind AI, and learn for ourselves how much faith we are willing to give it.
