Polydactyly, in humans, refers to the presence of more than five fingers or toes on each limb. It is also one of the distinctive signs or anomalies that reveal that an image has been generated by an Artificial Intelligence program.
Using this unintentional punctum of A.I., Bruno Ribeiro explores the subject and questions himself in his first solo exhibition.
Is he the artist or the assistant? What is the place of technology in his practice? Influence, inspiration, or just a tool?
Several possible answers are developed from a constitutive element of our humanity: the hand. A vector of emotion and expression, present in the history of art since prehistoric times, it remains the most difficult part of the body to represent, even for a computer program.
With various video, digital, and physical installations, Bruno Ribeiro invites us to join him in his reflection.
Throughout the exhibition, we will experience the limits of seeing and perceiving.
/PROMPT
Convex mirror / laser engraving / wood / 2023
Prompt on the mirror : /imagine going into an art gallery to look at prompts by Bruno Ribeiro, Polydactylie exhibition, white space, art installations, ultra realistic render, volumetric lighting, soft shadows, convex lens, face close up –v4
Upon entering the gallery, a first prompt, engraved on a mirror, welcomes the visitor. The play of appearances is triggered and the viewer is absorbed into the artwork, as well as into the exhibition space. The boundaries blur between real and artificial.
LA MAIN
Silicon sculpture by Atelier Junon / 2023
25 x 45 X 25cm
From a literal self-portrait in the mirror, we move to the artist's indirect self-portrait.
In self-portraits, the hand is often at the heart of the work and takes center stage, as it is a symbol of the creator holding the tools of their representation. Bruno Ribeiro's hand with six fingers, like an oddity in his studio (reproduced in hyper-realistic silicone), challenges the viewer, setting the direction and tone.
RABBITHOLE
2.30mn video loop
1600*2000 pixels / 2023
Extrait vidéo de RABBITHOLE
The generated images are made by juxtaposing real paintings that have been reinterpreted in animation using Stable Diffusion, a visual generation AI tool. They are then reassembled into a video sequence arranged on a 3D wall that gradually recedes, immersing the visitor in a visual vortex through "a" history of the representation of the hand throughout the ages.
« In the history of representations, the hand holds a major place, from religious symbols to popular claims. It is the anchor point of the Christic stigmas or the symbol of warding off evil forces; it conveys meaning. This is the demonstration that the following work, Rabbit Hole, will make in images.
Through this video, we immerse ourselves visually in the history of the representation of the hand in art, expanding space and time in the discourse of the work.
It should be noted that the hand is at the origin of all the artist’s manifestations, whether they are real or virtual. It is the very expression of language since, beyond writing, it can communicate in perfect autonomy through sign language.
Here, too, we are dealing with signs. Signs of time and paradoxes: the hands in images generated by AI indicate a technological detachment, a symptom of machine fallibility. Surprise: the prompt is wrong.
»
Image preparation for the different paintings used in the video.
Describing the artwork with words allows the AI to interpret it in order to maintain the style of the image throughout the entire sequence.
PAPER ROCK SCISSORS
Series of 30 images / 4 video screens / 2023 / Media server
Using words from the cinematic field, the generated images here seem to belong to movies that do not exist. With the prompt displayed next to its result, the text becomes as important as the image. The installation then takes on a didactic form, revealing through these visual iterations, the inner workings of the machine.
« “We are witnessing, with the emergence of artificial intelligence applications generating images from text, the preponderance of poetry over painting.”
»
POLYDACTYLIE
Solo show / Bruno Ribeiro
at Galerie A+E
9 rue des Arquebusiers, 75003 Paris
du 12 avril au 1 juin 2023 de 10h à 18h