News from Home is a collaboration between visual artist and sociologist Luke Conroy (Australia) and documentary filmmaker and visual artist Anne Fehres (The Netherlands). The core aim of ‘News From Home’ is to engage with the people, objects and stories which make up a local community and communicate these through visual art pieces.
These art pieces take the form of digital photo montages. Each of these montages contains between 2 and 200 individual ‘layers’ which are sourced from the thousands of photographs captured by the artists, alongside archival images sourced from the community in which the project is undertaken.
The starting point for News From Home is the humble postcard. The artists are interested in how the postcard presents highly constructed and idyllic images of a place, yet at the same time fails to acknowledge the more authentic but messy reality of that place. The constructed images of the postcard promote a particular ‘tourist gaze’ of a location, whereby the those who visit a place only seek out to confirm the stylised images and experiences seen in postcards, rather than question them or consider a place on a deeper level. It is this ‘deeper level’ consideration that lays at the heart of this project.
'News From Home' is an ongoing project that has been selected for undertaking in six locations during 2019. See works from these locations below and follow our project on Instagram: @news_from_home
If you are interested in viewing a summary portfolio of this project, click here
News from Home is a collaboration between visual artist and sociologist Luke Conroy (Australia) and documentary filmmaker and visual artist Anne Fehres (The Netherlands). The core aim of ‘News From Home’ is to engage with the people, objects and stories which make up a local community and communicate these through visual art pieces.
These art pieces take the form of digital photo montages. Each of these montages contains between 2 and 200 individual ‘layers’ which are sourced from the thousands of photographs captured by the artists, alongside archival images sourced from the community in which the project is undertaken.
The starting point for News From Home is the humble postcard. The artists are interested in how the postcard presents highly constructed and idyllic images of a place, yet at the same time fails to acknowledge the more authentic but messy reality of that place. The constructed images of the postcard promote a particular ‘tourist gaze’ of a location, whereby the those who visit a place only seek out to confirm the stylised images and experiences seen in postcards, rather than question them or consider a place on a deeper level. It is this ‘deeper level’ consideration that lays at the heart of this project.
'News From Home' is an ongoing project that has been selected for undertaking in six locations during 2019. See works from these locations below and follow our project on Instagram: @news_from_home
If you are interested in viewing a summary portfolio of this project, click here
News from Home is a collaboration between visual artist and sociologist Luke Conroy (Australia) and documentary filmmaker and visual artist Anne Fehres (The Netherlands). The core aim of ‘News From Home’ is to engage with the people, objects and stories which make up a local community and communicate these through visual art pieces.
These art pieces take the form of digital photo montages. Each of these montages contains between 2 and 200 individual ‘layers’ which are sourced from the thousands of photographs captured by the artists, alongside archival images sourced from the community in which the project is undertaken.
The starting point for News From Home is the humble postcard. The artists are interested in how the postcard presents highly constructed and idyllic images of a place, yet at the same time fails to acknowledge the more authentic but messy reality of that place. The constructed images of the postcard promote a particular ‘tourist gaze’ of a location, whereby the those who visit a place only seek out to confirm the stylised images and experiences seen in postcards, rather than question them or consider a place on a deeper level. It is this ‘deeper level’ consideration that lays at the heart of this project.
'News From Home' is an ongoing project that has been selected for undertaking in six locations during 2019. See works from these locations below and follow our project on Instagram: @news_from_home
If you are interested in viewing a summary portfolio of this project, click here
Better Images of AI
In a world where searching for 'artificial intelligence' yields clichéd images of humanoid robots and glowing brains, the need for a more accurate visual representation is paramount. Recognizing this, AI4Media, in collaboration with Better Images of AI and AIxDesign, launched an artist commission Open Call to cultivate a nuanced visual language for AI. This initiative challenged artists to rethink the portrayal of AI, moving beyond entrenched stereotypes to more responsibly reflect its role in society.
Responding to this call, collaborator Luke Conroy and I were one of three selected artists to contribute a series of work to the ‘Better Images of Ai’ image library. Our collaboration resulted in four digital collage artworks, each addressing key aspects of AI's interaction with human life. The artworks, developed in collaboration with We and AI for Better Images of AI, can be explored at Better Images of AI. "Hidden Labour of Internet Browsing" uncovers the unseen human input in everyday digital interactions, such as reCAPTCHA verifications. "Humans Do The Heavy Data Lifting" spotlights the significant yet often invisible human labor in online content moderation. "Models Built From Fossils" metaphorically represents AI data as 'fossils,' drawing attention to the biases and contexts embedded within AI models. Finally, "Data is a Mirror of Us" contemplates AI's role as a societal reflector, capturing both the merits and flaws of our technological creations.
The aim of these images is that they can function as catalysts for a broader conversation about AI. Our vision for the project aims for these images to be utilized across diverse media platforms, fostering a more nuanced and effective understanding of AI. As AI continues to evolve and integrate into various aspects of society, our works aim to play a crucial role in shaping the public's perception, contributing to a more informed and balanced view of this rapidly developing field.
This image is using the metaphor of the ‘fossil’ to represent the data which AI models are constructed of. The idea of fossil data helps to capture the contextless nature of many AI models. AI models are drawing upon millions of data imprints, from specific times and places. Such contexts are then stripped away when this data is then used in new ways. In using these ‘fossils’ to create new ideas and imagery, it is important to recognise the old prejudices and contextless ideas held within.
This image highlights the role of human labour, rather than AI, in maintaining ‘appropriate’ virtual experiences. Societal imagination of AI is fueled by fantasy more than reality - there is a deliberate strategy for when to and when not to reveal the human labour within AI systems. The role of the ‘content moderator’ is often overlooked and assumed to be an automated system. There is a blurring between human and technical achievement.
This image is exploring the hidden AI labour of everyday internet usage. An everyday example of this is the use of reCAPTCHA systems. Occasionally as we navigate the internet we are asked to prove we are not a robot, by being asked to identify a series of objects. Typically it might be crosswalks, traffic lights, bicycle riders or palm trees. Our small contribution cumulatively contributes to a large portion of data labelling, which is used in monetized products.
This image is using the metaphor of the ‘fossil’ to represent the data which AI models are constructed of. The idea of fossil data helps to capture the contextless nature of many AI models. AI models are drawing upon millions of data imprints, from specific times and places. Such contexts are then stripped away when this data is then used in new ways. In using these ‘fossils’ to create new ideas and imagery, it is important to recognise the old prejudices and contextless ideas held within.
This project was commissioned by AI4Media, AIxDesign and Better Images of AI funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 program. Coordination of the project was led by a talented team including Program Lead Ploipailin Flinn and Creative Lead Nadia Piet.
The final works can be explored at Better Images of AI.