Water[false] – low-waste practices in digital art

Water[false] is an interdisciplinary artistic and research project focused on the ecology of digital art and ethical creative practices in the age of generative artificial intelligence. I develop this project as part of the KPO for Culture artistic scholarship (2025), supported by the Polish National Plan for Recovery and Resilience.

The title plays with the words “waterfalls” and “false”, referring both to the flood of digitally generated images and to the growing difficulty of distinguishing what is organic from what is synthetic. Rather than contributing to visual excess, the project asks how digital art can be produced in a more mindful and resource-aware way.

Read more in my Contemporary Lynx article titled Low-waste practices in digital art. Material and Mental Footprint of “Non-existing” Images.

Background and context

In recent years, generative tools have significantly lowered the threshold for producing images. This has resulted in a rapid expansion of digital visual content, often created without careful consideration of scale, purpose or environmental impact.

Within digital art, speed and quantity increasingly replace intentional decision-making. At the same time, the material and ecological costs of digital production remain largely invisible. Water[false] responds to this condition by shifting attention from output to process, and from visual effect to responsibility.

Research focus

The project focuses on the following areas:

  • environmental aspects of digital image production,
  • visual overproduction in generative AI practices,
  • representations of water in contemporary AI-generated imagery,
  • low-waste and resource-conscious approaches to digital art,
  • artistic decision-making under conditions of technological abundance.

Methodology and approach

Water[false] is developed using an original methodology that combines art-based research, visual netnography and interviews with artists and experts. The project tests low-waste creative practices and promotes digital awareness understood as a conscious and reflective use of technology, rather than automatic or excessive production. The project builds on and further develops the Agile Art Manifesto (2025), which proposes a flexible and responsible approach to artistic practice that respects environmental, material and infrastructural limits. It also refers to my previous artistic research project [A]inspirations (2024).

Components and outcomes

Netnographic research on AI-generated water images and digital eco practices.
See Pinterest board 1 and board 2.

Multichannel audiovisual installation
 A digital installation created with an emphasis on ecological minimalism, reduced computational load and controlled use of digital tools.

Watch video with audiodescription:

Bilingual publication (PL/EN)
 A digital publication documenting the project process, including critical reflections on post-digital art practices and edited conversations with artists and experts working at the intersection of art, technology and sustainability. The publication includes:

  • low-waste practices model,
  • contextual research,
  • notes from the creative process,
  • summary of the interviews with practitioners.
DOWNLOAD PUBLICATION EN
DOWNLOAD PUBLICATION PL

Low-waste practices model
 A practical model for artists outlining ways to assess and limit the environmental footprint of digital art practices.

Multichannel audiovisual installation
 A digital installation created with an emphasis on ecological minimalism, reduced computational load and controlled use of digital tools.

Watch video with audiodescription:

Interviews with experts summary

As part of the project, I conducted three online interviews with experts, the themes of which I developed in the article and followed when creating a model of ecological practices. Each conversation had a different dynamic, pace, and focus—from ethical and philosophical to institutional to highly technical considerations. Therefore, I treat them not as a set of answers to the same questions, but as three different perspectives that complement each other.

What emerges most strongly from these conversations is the link between ecology and the attention economy. The topic of overproduction—of images, content, events, travel, updates—recurred in various forms throughout the conversations. Each of my interlocutors emphasized that environmental and mental resources are depleted under the pressure of visibility, the pace of institutional production, and the need for constant mobility. Thus, the climate crisis and the attention crisis are not two separate phenomena, but result from the same logic of excess and scaling. Ecology in artistic practice raises questions about the size, rhythm, form, and frequency of messages.

JOANNA MURZYN

My conversation with Joanna Murzyn, a technology activist and designer working in the field of regenerative design, focused on the responsibility of creators operating online. The starting point was the overproduction of images and the question of whether artists and designers can treat their online presence as neutral. During the conversation, we touched on the topic of online portfolios and promotional activities on social media, which, when added up globally, place a burden on both us, humans, and the environment. As Joanna pointed out, every update, animation, or autoplay generates real energy and infrastructure costs. The problem is not visibility itself, but thoughtlessness and succumbing to the pressure to constantly publish and “feed the algorithm.

An important theme was the issue of double standards: can artists afford to travel extensively by plane in the name of art when we expect others to restrict their travel? The conversation did not provide simple answers, but it did point to the need for ethical consistency. Creativity does not exempt us from responsibility. The most important conclusion: caring for the environment is not an addition to design practice, but an integral part of it.

Joanna’s recomendations:

  • designing a portfolio as a permanent structure, not an endless feed,
  • limiting heavy elements on pages (video, animation, excessive graphics),
  • thinking about the quality of visibility rather than its intensity,
  • treating mobility as an ethical decision, not an industry given.

Joanna Murzyn – Polish technology activist and regenerative designer working worldwide. She works at the intersection of communication technologies, community practices, and field research. She combines scientific knowledge with reflection on the relationships between people, nature, and digital code, co-creating solutions based on shared responsibility. More: www.murzyn.website

SARA SZOSTAK

The conversation with art curator Sara Szostak concerned ecology in an institutional context – curating, exhibition production, and residency programs. The focus was on the tension between programmatic ambition and environmental constraints. The most important observation was that sustainability in a cultural institution is not about one-off “green” gestures, but about redefining the entire process. It means thinking about the transport of works, exhibition materials, the frequency of events, but also about the well-being of the team and artists.

The theme of conscious downscaling as a strategy for quality and responsibility emerged. Sara proposed a shift from the logic of production to the logic of care—fewer events, more time; less spectacle, more relationships. We also discussed whether the cultural sector can be a leader in the shift towards an ecological approach. Although culture cannot solve systemic problems, it can shape imagination and practices. The main conclusion: an institution can become a laboratory for change if it starts to act consistently and transparently externally.

Sara’s recommendations:

  • taking environmental criteria into account at the planning stage,
  • building local partnerships instead of defaulting to international mobility,
  • documenting and analyzing the production footprint of exhibitions,
  • practicing transparency, including on the issue of compromises.

Sara Szostak – Polish art curator with a background in art and IT, working at the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw. She combines art and technology, exploring their impact on contemporary culture. She creates narrative and participatory projects that analyze the ecological, social, and political consequences of technological development. More: www.srszstk.com

SANDY DÄHNERT

The conversation with Sandy Dähnert focused on the ecology of digital design and UX/UI responsibility. The starting point was the thesis that web design influences both emissions and user behavior. According to Sandy, designers have real agency. Choosing renewable energy-based hosting, a lightweight CMS, limiting video and tracking tools, or setting a page weight limit are concrete decisions that reduce carbon footprint. At the same time, user experience design can either reinforce or weaken the culture of overconsumption.

Sandy emphasized that eco-friendly design also has functional benefits: faster loading, greater accessibility, and less cognitive overload. It is not “aesthetics of scarcity,” but more conscious and effective design. The topic of the psychology of change was also important – the interface can support more responsible user decisions. Ecology on the web is not only about infrastructure, but also about the relationships we build with our audience

Sandy’s recommendations:

  • introducing page weight limits as a universal design rule,
  • choosing green hosting based on renewable sources and lightweight themes,
  • minimizing the number of fonts, colors, shapes, and animations,
  • designing the user path to reduce the number of clicks (and therefore steps and pages),

Sandy Dähnert – UX/UI designer and founder of Green the Web portal. She has been involved in digital design for over a decade, combining it with social and climate activism. She supports creators and companies in developing environmentally friendly, accessible, and socially responsible websites and applications. More: www.greentheweb.com

Why it matters

As generative technologies continue to shape contemporary visual culture, questions of scale, responsibility and sustainability become increasingly relevant. Water[false] contributes to these discussions by offering a research-based artistic framework that prioritises intentional practice, reduced production and ecological awareness within digital art.

Funded from EU: 36 000 PLN