Artist Statement: New Worlds: A Self-Discovery Journey Through Technology and Art
In New Worlds: A Self-Discovery Journey Through Technology and Art, I explore themes of self-discovery, the feeling of being out of place in new environments, and the push-and-pull between meeting expectations and resisting them. Technology, a key part of my process, plays a dual role as both a creative tool and a source of those expectations.
For this project, I wanted to experiment with in-camera effects like rear projection and forced perspective to create a layered, immersive experience. Drawing inspiration from Alice in Wonderland, I used the theme of exploring a strange new world as a metaphor for self-exploration. I relied on subconscious memories and impressions of Alice’s story without deliberate research, allowing the imagery to emerge organically. I also used lucid dreaming techniques to let my mind generate ideas during sleep, capturing those thoughts upon waking.
To emphasize the role of technology in this journey, I used artificial intelligence to generate backgrounds. I began by feeding descriptions into ChatGPT, which refined the details of my envisioned scenes. These descriptions were then used to create prompts in Midjourney, resulting in dreamlike, otherworldly images that served as the backdrop for my photography. From there, I incorporated practical elements and carefully chosen lighting to blend digital and physical realities, creating a sense of depth and dimension in each scene.
The use of vivid colors helped to amplify the feeling of entering another world, with each color chosen to reflect the mood and emotion of the scene. The AI-generated backgrounds added intricate textures and surreal details, allowing me to achieve the layered effect I envisioned without compositing. Every element—from the costuming and props to the poses and expressions—was chosen to enhance the narrative and create a visually compelling world.
This project reflects my ongoing exploration of the intersection between technology and art, as well as my personal journey of self-discovery. Combining AI-generated visuals with in-camera effects has opened up new creative possibilities, and I look forward to continuing to evolve these techniques in my future work.
Because I used AI with unknown sourced training for the backgrounds, I will not be selling prints of these for ethical reasons. However, I will be creating series like this in the future where I create my backgrounds personally or using ethically sourced images.
