LW: What excites you about GAN technology? Why did you choose to work with it and where would you like to see its role in art, and AI more generally, go in the future?Â
RL: It’s the feeling of the unknown and the ability to tap one’s imagination into a visual result. Since using AI as a tool, I have felt that the world of possibilities has opened up immensely, and as a creative, this can be extremely inspiring. I first used it with GLORYLAND, which is a very traditional documentary project. Still, within the church, you always heard the fables from the bible that illustrated things I could never photograph but were very prominent in the landscape of the characters I was documenting. I used GAN to create illustrations for these stories, and I’m pleased with how that helped polish and add another layer to the project. There are countless ways to use AI as a tool, and I find that very inspiring and exciting but also a bit terrifying.
LW: You’ve referred to the project as creating a world that is both familiar and strange, do you see parallels between this statement and today’s world more generally? Particularly with the embrace of AI and digital reality?Â
RL: Absolutely! We have entered a stage in human existence where our ambitions and ability to develop technologies have created a new world where we can’t tell if humans or machines create something. I don’t believe we exist in a physical world separate from a digital one. Our current moment as humans is undeniably strange, and I don’t know where this road will lead. AI is moving at lightning speeds, and that is a scary thought. Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash becomes less of a fictional novel and more of a prophetic warning more and more to me every day.
LW: You’ve said the project draws inspiration from contemporary Japanese aesthetics, what do you mean by that and how is it reflected in the artworks?Â
RL: I have been gravitating toward this style of photography, where grain, rich black, and texture are all embraced to create an emotionally invigorating image. In documentary work, the way an image is formed is much more literal, and I have always considered composition the most essential quality. But in the contemporary landscape, emotion takes the lead, and I have been finding this world very freeing. I’ve always looked up to the level of thought, attention to detail, and purpose you see in almost everything from Japan. Photography is certainly no exception to these attributes for them, either. One project that has been my biggest inspiration for CHANSU is Daido Moriyama’s Bye Bye Photography. This book broke all the rules of photography at that time, embracing chaos and chance. It’s a true masterpiece.