THE VOYAGE - MarkBland.ca

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a rapidly advancing technology and medium for creating imagery, sound, video, and more. Over the past year, I have immersed myself in this field, acquiring a deep understanding of the available tools and techniques for image generation. This exploration has resulted in the creation of over 45,000 unique works between April 2022 and June 2023.

Distilled from my year-long engagement with this strange and increasingly powerful medium, the series presented here offers a small glimpse into the expansive simulated imagination of generative AI. These ten works encompass a harmonious blend of seven distinct AI neural network models released during the technology’s early stages. It incorporates the use of both online and offline neural diffusion models, and utilizes techniques known as inpainting* and outpainting** through a fusion of text and image-based prompting.

As a collection this series serves as a metaphorical window, inviting viewers to embark on a symbolic day-long voyage from a morning departure to a midnight arrival. As the trip unfolds, viewers are transported along the timeline of AI’s increasing complexity over the past year. Conceptually and stylistically it compares the development of the external simulated imagination of generative AI with the act of taking a trip, whether it’s physical, a voyage within one’s own mind, or the ride of life itself.

* Inpainting: A process of selectively adding in portions of an image based on contextual information.

** Outpainting: A technique to extrapolate beyond the original image’s boundaries, generating new elements and expanding the original composition.

Stereoscopic versions of each of the 10 pieces were on display with the use of a 100 year old stereo image viewing device.