ARTIFICIAL PARADISES
Hybridity in Fashion Photography
The National Museum in Szczecin – Museum of Contemporary Art 9.05–9.06.2024
The exhibition considers fashion as a social phenomenon defined by two processes: our need to belong to a particular group and a si- multaneous desire for individuality. Modern technologies exert great influence on these needs. In virtual space, they build artificial worlds in colorful images that form identity from an open project. Thus, pho- tography’s function changes from recording moments to creating images. It is this hybrid nature that makes photography a starting point for further transformations, positioning itself ever closer to the field of design by becoming a design tool.
The ”Artificial Paradises” of the title takes us to an electronic world whose boundary with the physical world is increasingly fluid. The longing for the body about which German philosopher Wolfgang Welsch wrote can be seen in the tendency to return to the senses. What we find on the screen can enthrall and absorb our attention. But there is no substitute for the physical. We can see the negative consequences of becoming enthralled with the digital world – and we actually want a return – but it will be a return to a physical world filled with algorithms.
IDENTITY, ARTIFICIAL HAVENS, HYBRIDITY, FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY, DIGITAL SPACE, AI NEOCOLONIALISM, MONOCULTURE, VISUALIZATION OF IMAGERY, DATA AS EXCAVATION CORPOREALITY, TELEPRESENCE
The Monoculture series consists of photographs that tell the story of the clothing market in Kenya. It is flooded with counterfeit products from luxury brands that displace traditional clothing forms, such as kanga and kikoi. The idea for the Monoculture series came during a trip to Nairobi. I took the photographs together with Graciella, a student I met through the Instagram platform. Grace picked out clothes for photo shoots with me. She knew the latest trends, successes and scandals of the various fashion houses whose logos appeared on the clothes found at the local market.Provisional Reconstruction refers to the visual language used in ethnographic installations. In March 2024, the National Museum in Szczecin closed a permanent exhibition on African culture that presented visitors with a specific idea of village life. Having visited many times over the course of its long run, this visualization of anthropological research significantly shaped my vision of the continent. In this sense, a fragment of reality imposed interpretation of the culture captured in the image.
The NMS reconstruction of an African village is fossilized in images of the Kenyan capital generated by artificial intelligence. The database on which the AI is trained is like an excavation site, where images are generated from fragments of undated photographs. They depict a metropolis with inflatable animals in the foreground. The urban landscape is the backdrop for the plastic animals, which were my childhood image of Africa.Using items brought from Nairobi, product photographs were shot in the studio in a convention reminiscent of still life. This interpretation of an artificial paradise refers to wealth and exclusive consumption, and its proposed aesthetics to a digitally modeled, artificial world.
The Monoculture series consists of photographs that tell the story of the clothing market in Kenya. It is flooded with counterfeit products from luxury brands that displace traditional clothing forms, such as kanga and kikoi. The idea for the Monoculture series came during a trip to Nairobi. I took the photographs together with Graciella, a student I met through the Instagram platform. Grace picked out clothes for photo shoots with me. She knew the latest trends, successes and scandals of the various fashion houses whose logos appeared on the clothes found at the local market.
Provisional Reconstruction refers to the visual language used in ethnographic installations. In March 2024, the National Museum in Szczecin closed a permanent exhibition on African culture that presented visitors with a specific idea of village life. Having visited many times over the course of its long run, this visualization of anthropological research significantly shaped my vision of the continent. In this sense, a fragment of reality imposed interpretation of the culture captured in the image.
The NMS reconstruction of an African village is fossilized in images of the Kenyan capital generated by artificial intelligence. The database on which the AI is trained is like an excavation site, where images are generated from fragments of undated photographs. They depict a metropolis with inflatable animals in the foreground. The urban landscape is the backdrop for the plastic animals, which were my childhood image of Africa.
The NMS reconstruction of an African village is fossilized in images of the Kenyan capital generated by artificial intelligence. The database on which the AI is trained is like an excavation site, where images are generated from fragments of undated photographs. They depict a metropolis with inflatable animals in the foreground. The urban landscape is the backdrop for the plastic animals, which were my childhood image of Africa.
Using items brought from Nairobi, product photographs were shot in the studio in a convention reminiscent of still life. This interpretation of an artificial paradise refers to wealth and exclusive consumption, and its proposed aesthetics to a digitally modeled, artificial world.
Dirty Data is an object resembling an inflatable mattress, its surface is covered with a print generated by artificial intelligence and based on dozens of photographs of a young man. In the technology’s early development, Artificial intelligence models deformed the human body. This bot illustrates and mimics the photographic image. A mattress moving lightly through the air intake simulates life, just as the artificial intelligence tries to imitate it; pretends to be but is not. The anthropomorphization is encoded in the technology itself based on natural language and photorealistic images that we perceive in terms of reality.As analogous objects, both physical face-coverings and graphic representations in virtual reality share a common function – they impose identities on their users. In this display, being oneself and someone else at the same time is realized through the digital image of a mask generated by artificial intelligence that appears on a mannequin from the NMS ethnographic exhibition.Based on class portraits of high school girls in Szczecin, new images were generated taking into account the preferences of those photographed. The medium of the work is stickers for electronic equipment. The work raises questions: Who will we be if we can be anyone online? Is digital imagery more important than representations of their physical selves to the younger generation? Does digital identity reflect, supplant or support identity in the physical world?
Two laptop screens show interactive projections prepared in Java Script. One is from a camera and gives off an audible beep when faces are detected. The presents an avatar that blurs the image after receiving the sound. This is how feedback and a kind of machine communication is created.
Dirty Data is an object resembling an inflatable mattress, its surface is covered with a print generated by artificial intelligence and based on dozens of photographs of a young man. In the technology’s early development, Artificial intelligence models deformed the human body. This bot illustrates and mimics the photographic image. A mattress moving lightly through the air intake simulates life, just as the artificial intelligence tries to imitate it; pretends to be but is not. The anthropomorphization is encoded in the technology itself based on natural language and photorealistic images that we perceive in terms of reality.
As analogous objects, both physical face-coverings and graphic representations in virtual reality share a common function – they impose identities on their users. In this display, being oneself and someone else at the same time is realized through the digital image of a mask generated by artificial intelligence that appears on a mannequin from the NMS ethnographic exhibition.
Based on class portraits of high school girls in Szczecin, new images were generated taking into account the preferences of those photographed. The medium of the work is stickers for electronic equipment. The work raises questions: Who will we be if we can be anyone online? Is digital imagery more important than representations of their physical selves to the younger generation? Does digital identity reflect, supplant or support identity in the physical world?
Two laptop screens show interactive projections prepared in Java Script. One is from a camera and gives off an audible beep when faces are detected. The presents an avatar that blurs the image after receiving the sound. This is how feedback and a kind of machine communication is created.
Two laptop screens show interactive projections prepared in Java Script. One is from a camera and gives off an audible beep when faces are detected. The presents an avatar that blurs the image after receiving the sound. This is how feedback and a kind of machine communication is created.
Polish Paradise is an installation centred on a loop of photographs contributed by people met during the artist’s travels and on Instagram that alludes to the displays that people show relatives and friends when they return from vacation. Framed in a tropical island, the imagery placed in this context uses Polish cultural codes that refer to the biblical Eden.1.Versace watch, acquired in: East Africa, 2023, made in: China, steel, glass, plastic, private collection
2. Versace watch, purchased in: East Africa, 2023, made in: China, steel, glass, plastic, private collection
3. Rolex watch, purchased in: East Africa, 2023, made in: China, steel, glass, plastic, private collection
4. Jewelry, purchased in: East Africa, 2021, made in: Kenya, steel, plastic, private collection
5. Chanel bag, acquired in: East Africa, 2022, made in: China, synthetic material, private collection
6. Chanel flip-flops, acquired in: East Africa, 2022, made in: Tanzania, synthetic material, private collection
7.Gucci scarf, purchased in: East Africa, 2021, made in: China, polyester, private collection
8. Balenciaga T-shirt, purchased in: East Africa, 2021, made in: Kenya, cotton, private collection
9. Chanel and Louis Vuitton dress, acquired in: East Africa, 2022, made in: China, polyester, private collection
10.Louis Vuitton shirt, acquired in: East Africa, 2022, made in: China, polyester, private collection
11.Gucci shirt, purchased in: East Africa, 2022, made in: China, polyester, private collection
12.Chenal shirt, purchased in: East Africa, 2022, made in: China, viscose and polyester, private collection
Polish Paradise is an installation centred on a loop of photographs contributed by people met during the artist’s travels and on Instagram that alludes to the displays that people show relatives and friends when they return from vacation. Framed in a tropical island, the imagery placed in this context uses Polish cultural codes that refer to the biblical Eden.
1.Versace watch, acquired in: East Africa, 2023, made in: China, steel, glass, plastic, private collection
2. Versace watch, purchased in: East Africa, 2023, made in: China, steel, glass, plastic, private collection
3. Rolex watch, purchased in: East Africa, 2023, made in: China, steel, glass, plastic, private collection
4. Jewelry, purchased in: East Africa, 2021, made in: Kenya, steel, plastic, private collection
5. Chanel bag, acquired in: East Africa, 2022, made in: China, synthetic material, private collection
6. Chanel flip-flops, acquired in: East Africa, 2022, made in: Tanzania, synthetic material, private collection
7.Gucci scarf, purchased in: East Africa, 2021, made in: China, polyester, private collection
8. Balenciaga T-shirt, purchased in: East Africa, 2021, made in: Kenya, cotton, private collection
9. Chanel and Louis Vuitton dress, acquired in: East Africa, 2022, made in: China, polyester, private collection
10.Louis Vuitton shirt, acquired in: East Africa, 2022, made in: China, polyester, private collection
11.Gucci shirt, purchased in: East Africa, 2022, made in: China, polyester, private collection
12.Chenal shirt, purchased in: East Africa, 2022, made in: China, viscose and polyester, private collection
2. Versace watch, purchased in: East Africa, 2023, made in: China, steel, glass, plastic, private collection
3. Rolex watch, purchased in: East Africa, 2023, made in: China, steel, glass, plastic, private collection
4. Jewelry, purchased in: East Africa, 2021, made in: Kenya, steel, plastic, private collection
5. Chanel bag, acquired in: East Africa, 2022, made in: China, synthetic material, private collection
6. Chanel flip-flops, acquired in: East Africa, 2022, made in: Tanzania, synthetic material, private collection
7.Gucci scarf, purchased in: East Africa, 2021, made in: China, polyester, private collection
8. Balenciaga T-shirt, purchased in: East Africa, 2021, made in: Kenya, cotton, private collection
9. Chanel and Louis Vuitton dress, acquired in: East Africa, 2022, made in: China, polyester, private collection
10.Louis Vuitton shirt, acquired in: East Africa, 2022, made in: China, polyester, private collection
11.Gucci shirt, purchased in: East Africa, 2022, made in: China, polyester, private collection
12.Chenal shirt, purchased in: East Africa, 2022, made in: China, viscose and polyester, private collection
