TAMPERED ARCHIVE
Sebastian Koukkides
Tampered archive, interactive artwork, 2022, Elements Gallery, Illusion(reality) exhibition
Analogue slide projector, found images, artificial generated images(AI - GTP-3) and 35mm analogue images.
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The artwork revolves around a collection of analogue slide projectors, found images, AI-generated images, and 35mm analogue photographs. It aims to explore how visual imagery is created and consumed in today’s society.
It all started with the acquisition of a mechanical slide projector and a series of photographs whose origins and dates are unknown. These photographs depict various places in Cyprus and served as the foundation for generating additional images. To dive deeper into the production and consumption of imagery, an AI image generator was used to interpret the found photographs. The AI generated a series of images, which were combined with the existing found images and photographs taken on 35mm film.
The resulting mix of these three sets of images is continuously projected in a loop.
The artwork deliberately juxtaposes two different technologies: analogue photography and digitally-generated images created by AI. This intentional contrast aims to make viewers reflect on the creation of images in our contemporary society. The mechanical slide projector, with its slow-paced mechanism, encourages viewers to contemplate how media consumption has evolved, particularly in a smartphone-dominated era of constant scrolling.
The process of creating this artwork blurs the lines of authorship, creation, and technology. There are three distinct creators involved: the unknown author of the found images, the AI image generator itself, and the artist. The artwork challenges traditional ideas of authorship and explores the influence of technology on the creative process. By seamlessly integrating reality, deception, and artificiality in an unbroken cycle, it prompts critical reflection on the creation and consumption of images in today’s society. It invites viewers to reassess the role played by technology and the artist in shaping our visual culture.
I am an artist and I work at the intersection of architecture, image making and spatial design. My main focus is on exploring the socio-political dynamics within the built environment and uncover new urban narratives. I traverse between the socio-politics of the urban fabric, the physical objects that surround us, public space and speculative design. Through a combination of research, design thinking, and a critical perspective, I bring together narratives and ideas, merging them into various projects that aim to evoke questions about our surroundings and its possible futures. Recently I have been interested in the implications of emerging technologies in society and their impact on the fabric of our cities, this has led me to explore ways in which the technologies could be used within the physical / social spaces in our cities, and use them to re-imagine new ways of togetherness.