President of the Macau Art For All Society, Alice Kok’s AI artwork series Artificial Subconscious was recently presented at the French May 2024 Fusion: Sino-French Exhibition.
AI is revolutionizing the visual arts in exciting ways. It’s breaking down traditional barriers and opening up a new world of creative possibilities. We’re seeing AI tools that can generate entirely new images, manipulate existing ones in unimaginable ways, and even mimic different artistic styles. This allows artists like myself to explore new aesthetics, push creative boundaries, and experiment with concepts that were previously impossible to achieve.
I am currently fascinated by the possibilities of Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and Runway. I use it primarily for generating images, creating initial concept sketches, manipulating photographs, etc. I find that it helps me to visualise abstract ideas, and actualise my subconscious imageries, and certainly speed up staging tasks in image-making which could take much longer time.
AI acts as a powerful catalyst for my imagination. It helps me break free from creative ruts and explore unconventional ideas that I might not have considered otherwise. AI tools empower me to experiment with different mediums, styles, and techniques that would be challenging to master traditionally. This opens up a world of possibilities for pushing the boundaries of my art. AI can automate time-consuming tasks, such as generating complex patterns or refining details. This allows me to focus more on the conceptual and expressive aspects of my work.
The issue of copyright and ownership in AI-generated art is complex and still evolving. It’s important to establish clear guidelines to protect artists’ rights. And there could be the concern of an over-dependence on AI which stifles the development of traditional artistic skills and the human touch that makes art so unique.
But overall, I’m rather optimistic. I believe that AI has the potential to revolutionise art for the better, but it’s crucial that we approach its development and implementation thoughtfully. We need to engage in open conversations about the ethical implications, ensure equitable access to these technologies, and prioritise the preservation of human creativity. By working together, we can harness the power of AI to enhance, not replace, the human experience in art and beyond.
For my collection Artificial Subconscious I drew inspiration from the subconscious, using dreams, emotions and intuition to drive the creative process. The subconscious is a source of ideas, symbolism and personal experiences that can be expressed in a unique and profound way through art. This series combines my own imagery of human civilisation and personal subconsciousness with the concept of visualising subconsciousness through the use of an artificially intelligent image generator, which is at the intersection of art and technology.
