MACHINIC ECHOES OF A MARKING
Machinic Echoes: Classroom Iteration
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As part of Machinic Echoes of a Marking, Mohammed Chiba initiated a small-scale experiment with his sixth-grade students in Bilbao. The exercise began with a selection of his original drawings—works that resist narrative, symbolism, or instruction.
The students were asked to describe what they perceived. The artist offered a loose framework for description, not to direct interpretation but to support articulation. These fourteen responses were then used verbatim as prompts for an image-generation system.
What unfolds here is not a comparison between an “original” and its reproduction, but a layered translation: from mark to perception, from perception to language, from language to machine vision. The resulting images reveal how meaning mutates as it passes through different interpretive thresholds—and how description itself becomes a creative act.
Displayed alongside the original drawing, each machinic image carries the trace of its author: a young viewer negotiating attention, metaphor, and naming. Together, the set foregrounds interpretation as a collective, situated, and deeply human process—one that precedes and shapes the machinic outcome.
The picture is big and there are only a few colours: red, blue, pink, purple and black. The red is in the background and the pink, blue, and purple are in the head. The head is big and it is a side profile. It has two very small eyes and a big chin, and a big nose. For me it is simple and creative. The artist used crayons and watercolours. It is a bit rough.
– Aiora
In the picture I see one side of a face and in the middle of the face, two circles. The picture has a bright red background, blue and purple and pink face, and the circles are black. This face has got a very long neck and a round chin and over the chin there is the nose. the nose is very pointed and the lines are very rough. It is very beautiful and i think it makes me feel happy. it looks like nothing is happening and i think the artist used watercolor and crayons for the picture. the artwork is very pretty
– Kaitlin
I see a person’s side profile part of the face. The face is in the middle of the picture. In the picture there are many colours: Warm colours like red in the background and pink for the face. And cool colours like blue and purple crayon in the middle of the face. When I see the picture it makes me feel calm. The picture is so relaxing. I think the artist used crayons and watercolour for the face and watercolour for the background. The picture is colourful and bright. The lines of the picture are small and sharp. My opinion about the picture is that it is simple but beautiful. – Mara
In the picture I see one side of a face. It hasn't got eyes and it is abstract. The face is in the middle. The background is bright red and it is painted with water paint. The person's nose is pointed , the chin is round and the neck is long. The paper is bigger than a4, on the right side of the nose, there is a small circle, the same shape and color. The face is painted with pink waterpaint and on that there is a little bit of blue and purple crayons.
– Lur
The paper looks large. The shape is rectangle. The background is mostly red and pink. I think the artist used crayons. I can see circles, lines, and curved shapes. The marks look smooth and thick. I notice colours like sky blue, deep red and pink. The artwork makes me feel confused. I think the artwork looks modern.
– Newen
For me this artwork is in black and white, but it makes me feel a lot of calm. There are a lot of trees and grass. In the middle there is a path with two people walking in the background. In the middle there are tall trees and the right bottom has short grass. In my opinion to make the picture he used a pencil and a little bit of pen. For me the artwork is beautiful because it has a lot of details. The lines and marks are sharp, to make the grass, the people, the trees.
– Unai
The paper looks medium and rectangle shaped. The background is mostly light grey. I think the artist used ink pen. I can see lines. The marks look rough, thin and light. I notice colours like black and white. The artwork makes me feel happy and calm. In the picture I can see 2 people, a ship, a river in the middle and a big leaf on the left. I am not sure how the artwork looks. – Kimetz
I see 2 people in the left to the centre. There is a long bended tree on the left of the people. On the other side there are two long plants. In the middle there is a river, and the path going to the right. On the side of the river there is short grass. The colours are black and white and the artwork makes me feel calm and excited. It looks like someone walking. The artist used black markers. I think artwork is beautiful. The artwork is in pencil, and there are sharp lines. – Eki
For me this artwork is strange but you can see many objects and people. For example I see 2 people, 1 castle, and 3 birds. But the art is in black and white. I think this artwork is drawin with markers because it is very detailed. In the artwork I see two people walking on a path and 3 very big birds with their head in the ground and another path leads to a castle. – David
I see two people in the left middle of the picture, I see an owl, its on the left middle. I see a deer head looking at you. I see a path divided in two parts. One part continues but not a lot, and the other part goes to the right middle. The second part of the path I see a small rectangle and I think ‘ you have to stop’ is written. I see a feather on the own, I see short grass in all of the picture but it goes from the middle to the bottom and doesnt go on the part of the path. I see two leaves, one is a little but above the bottom and the other is a little bit below the middle. The background is white and the rest is black, the artwork makes me feel bored and calm. I think there are two people relaxing. I think the artist used a marker to do the artwork. In my opinion it is beautiful and creative. It is very peaceful, and the lines are smooth and sharp. – Liher
The paper looks medium sized, and rectangle shaped. The background is mostly light grey. I think the artist used ink pen. I can see lines. The marks look rough, thin, and light. I notice colours like black and white. The artwork makes me feel happy and calm. I am not sure about how the artwork looks.
– Aratz
I see a butterfly, the background is black and white. In the middle I see a flower. There are many colours: blue and purple. There are many abstract lines: blue and red. The blossom of the flower is mostly green with blue parts in the middle. I feel interested. The artist used acrylic paint. It looks like a lot is happening, it expresses movement. I think the artwork is creative and detailed. The artwork is peaceful. The brush strokes are smooth. – Enara
The artwork is a rectangle shape. The background is black, the artist used acrylic paint. In the middle there is a leaf curved to the left and the most part is green and some part is blue and it is painted with markers. Around the leaf there are some lines in two colors, red and blue and it is made with pens. Around the lines and leaf there are different shapes and these shapes are separated in two colors, blue and purple. They are painted with acrylic paint. The left corner is white. I feel interested and calm.
– Jare
The paper looks medium sized, and the shape is rectangle. The background is mostly black, I think the artist used crayons. I can see curvy shapes, and others I dont know. The marks look smooth. I notice colours like light pink, bright red, dark green, purple and black. The artwork makes me feel calm and happy. I think the artwork looks abstract. – Nahia