fakes

„fakes“ is a series of works that investigates co-authorship with artificial intelligence and its self-manifestation through image generation. Although widely thought to be an advanced technology, artificial intelligence so far simply builds on massive datasets that replicate and even enhance biases omnipresent in contemporary society.

For the work, a few hundred photos of industrially produced human anatomy models - such as those used in medical education - were downloaded to build up a custom dataset that was fed into a Generative Adversarial Network (=image generating algorithm). The algorithm trained for almost 2 weeks on 2.3 million images, progressively approaching the realism of the input images, but failing to reach it due to the variation of the input images and the size of the dataset.

Based on the visual information of the input data, the algorithm calculated models neglecting the anatomical reality and writing itself as well as its history into the depicted anatomy, creating technologically distorted biological forms.

One of the images was hand-modeled into a digital 3d model, CNC-milled and cast in ceramics multiple times, a production method common mostly for industrial sanitaryware. The strangely colored AI-generated images were reimagined by pouring colored ceramics into the mold, resulting in a similar fluid coloring.

“fakes” are part of the series “old minds, new bodies”.

“fakes”

series of unique, slip-cast ceramics, transparent glaze

(cast from cnc milled, digitally hand-modeled 3d model based on an image generated by an AI trained on a custom dataset)

60 x 22 x 8 cm

2023