2021-2022

Cyanotype Prints of AI Generated Pictures ; 6 pieces, 10 x 15 cm excluding frame

This series of prints was my very first experimentation of AI generation of pictures in order to create artworks. In late 2021 and early 2022, the period during which I created this series, Midjourney was not released, AI generation of images was requiring very high capacity computers and was nearly science fiction for most people still. It was definitely not yet democratised as it is since 2023. Now the technology has incredibly improved. But I definitely did not regret doing this series by that time because the level of credibility of the images was still allowing a lot of “mistakes” and “invraissemblances” that was fitting my subject perfectly.

This series was produced by collecting testimonies from Berlin migrants about their dreams after migration and then by processing this data by Artificial Intelligence in order to give it a visual form. Then the pictures were printed using cyanotype. 

By that I wanted to highlight something we all share in common : dreams and sleep. But also to explore not yet much explored territories relatively to the subject of migration. Using the AI to create the landscape pictures, I used the process that imitates the closest to the dreaming process : In the same way our brain generates nonexistent places by compilation of thousands of memories, the AI creates pictures by compilation of millions of photographs. And both create nonexistent places that look real. Finally I give it materiality by printing the generated landscapes on using traditional and artisanal printing technics : cyanotype. This printing technics comes in contradiction with the AI technology and it is on purpose. From something entirely digital, it suddenly reconnected with the analogic world, giving it materiality and so some reality.