This exhibition is the first edition of the ‘Hi Ai’ series. The title ‘Hi Ai’ is a phrase coined from the words in “humanity” and “AI,” in which artificial intelligence says a friendly “Hi!” to the audience. The exhibition includes media art content utilizing artificial intelligence that has already been integrated into daily life, with the benefit of alleviating the fear of AI or concerns about humanity’s future through the intended messages that aspire for a brighter future.
The first special exhibition of the ‘Hi Ai!’ series, “Ai to Seoul”, presents media artworks by Korea’s representative media artists utilizing creative AI applications under the theme of ‘Seoul’ as a space.
Subway Synapse expresses various aspects of life in Seoul through the images of subway trains. The artist Lee Changhee utilizes typical scenes of Seoul as the database that he can express through the subway environment, while capturing images of all things cutting-edge, traditional, cultural, natural, and global. The media artwork features animated characters riding on the subway train that project various landscapes through the windows. They are the visual expression of Seoul and its citizens’ journeys connected via the subway or train. Subway riders who get off at exit No. 9 of Gwanghwamun Station, where the long media wall starts, can enjoy artist’s artwork that stretches all the way to Haechi Lounge at Gwanghwamun Square.
AI Production Method
Every image inside the subway train was created by the Ai visual software, which utilized various aspects of Seoul and turned them into the database before creating original images. Fitting the horizontally long media platform at Haechi Lounge, artist made the images appear to be moving slowly. He added swaying and noise effects to the animated Ai characters inside the train, maximizing their movements. He also took photos of various characters using chromakey technology, and produced them to go well with the backdrop using Ai.
The media artwork With or Without You. 2023 features diverse images one could easily come across in the megalopolis of Seoul. Artist Mioon's observation of modern urbanites' diverse and dynamic lives can make viewers empathize with them and simultaneously generate ‘a-ha’ moments of mutual interaction. Every segment reveals fragments of many individuals in silhouettes, with these spatial units creating a new and gigantic community. Referring to how a modern city is formed, Mioon evokes viewers to ponder the ever-changing, kaleidoscopic world today.
Ai Production Method
Mioon captured colors and movements used to express a collective image by utilizing generative Ai sounds. Using the program “Kaiver Ai,” Mioon have generated images to express individual lives in small pattern-like rooms against constantly changing images of the sunset and the sky. Then, the artist cross-edited both existing and newly shot videos of nature. The scenes taken in the forest were moved away from the images of a city, which transformed into imaginary scenes from a future society with the help of Ai-generated images. The resulting image comprises intriguing images combining scenes of the universe and nature fused with unpredictable AI-generated images.
The media work Dreaming with AI is a 3D animation created based on a dialogue between the artist Ham Ji-won and AI on the essence of “Space.” This artwork came about after the artist imagined about what it would be like if AI answered questions, which she set up in advance, and whether an interview would be possible. The interview was conducted in a Q&A format on various topics like virtual reality, reality, space, and city, in which the artist threw in abstract or specific connections to “Seoul.” The artist then examined how the GPT-4 model understands Seoul as a real city, where people lived, and how the artificial intelligence describes virtual reality, where it exists. Then, the artist produced a video using image inspired by ten sets of Q&As and excerpts from the dialogue, and aligned Q&As on the horizontally extended screen. As viewers move along, the media artwork provides them with a chance to indirectly experience dialogues exchanged with artificial intelligence.
Ai Production Method
This media artwork was inspired by Q&As between the artist and GTP-4, which has been commanded to review audiovisual materials prior to the interview. Creative questions and answers, which were exchanged between the artist and AI on how it understands ‘Seoul’ and excerpts, have been made into 3D animation. The horizontally aligned Q&As on the long screen allows viewers to walk along the wall and see the content. The screen comprises small individual pixels measuring 10 centimeters for close-up viewing, while they make up large groups in movement for distant viewing. The pixel animation mixed with excerpts from the interview is intended to generate real-time images following the algorithm. Thus, the program assimilates many abstract phenomena occurring in the city through the expression of countless components, as if cells mutually interact in a living organism. Copious images making up the animation video are created using an AI application called Stable Diffusion, which freely composes images using familiar yet important daily objects like traffic signals, apartments, and images of commuters in Seoul.