/imagine prompt
: a swimming pool for artist

     The series /imagine prompt: a swimming pool for artist is generated by an AI image generator program Midjourney, and it is an assemblage of personal imagination toward artists’ swimming pool as the title literally indicates. The title is the PC command that I used to make this series. For example, I just typed ‘/imagine prompt: a swimming pool for Van Gogh, realistic.’ when I want to get a photograph of Van Gogh’s swimming pool. I wrote down the command as simple as possible to let AI use its creativity.
Creativity. It is not an exclusive human property anymore. Create means to make new thing based on accumulated data. When it comes to data, AI overwhelms an individual.

     I strived to imagine posthumous and contemporary artist’s swimming pool in this work. I stood up all nights to collect certain photographs. Some photographs came out meaningfully, and others not. So the process repeated over and over. I spent most of time to tell meaningfulness from meaninglessness. The photographer was still me, not AI, as I still have the right of final decision. Who press the shutter button became not important long ago. Then, shutter releases are even unnecessary anymore. Concept and context are everything.

     Before subject matter, I focused on what types of photographs could be only generated by AI, not in the real world. In this point, it joins with my point of view that we have to choose the best medium to express certain message. For example, I don’t think a picture of beautiful landscape could defeat Van Gogh’s original painting. I always think of ‘what kind of subject (matter) can be only available or the most meaningful by taking photographs?’. And in this project, I have to consider one more time ― what can be the best by using AI. Then I imagined swimming pools of my favorite artists as AI would be better than me in this topic.

     Whenever I came up with photographic idea and the idea is more suitable for AI, I will never hesitate to use it. It is really exciting to wait and see myself what kind of subject matter is next for my AI series.

     This project is invited to the <2023 docking!> which is a public offering program that helps the publication of the author's first book working in the field of visual art. It was started in 2018 by the same people in VOSTOK PRESS︎︎︎, and published the first books of three photographers with different personalities for three years.

     Since last year(2022), it has been organized by wrm whatreallymatters︎︎︎ to provide new workers in various fields such as design, illustration, and modern art as well as photography, with an opportunity to grow their work through books. To this end, <2023 docking!> provides an educational and exchange venue for workers who imagine their first book to increase their feasibility. Portfolio reviews involving publishers and designers who are prominent in each field of small-scale art publishing to those selected from among the applicants. And it also provides opportunities for dummy book workshops.

<2023 docking!> was designed to imagine welcoming new colleagues in a small art publishing ecosystem, and will select workers and designers who are considering publishing books in four fields (photography, painting, design, and visual culture research). This time, senior and junior workers in the field of small-scale art publishing can gather to share their concerns and experiences about books.

host｜whatreallymatters
plan｜VOSTOK PRESS

#2 <Fake is Real> @CICA Museum

     <Fake is Real> is a group exhibition of Ai artworks which is held at CICA Museum in April, 2024.

#3 DUMMY AWARD ‘24 @dummyaward24︎︎︎

     The Dummy Award is the international competition for the best unpublished photobook dummies of the year.

The Dummy Award, formerly known as the Kassel Dummy Award, is the international competition for the best unpublished photobook dummies of the year. Starting 2023 the PhotoBookMuseum, Cologne together with its sponsor and partner MAS Matbaa; Istanbul has taken over the award and will lead it into a bright future.

On March 9th the jury met in Cologne to go through all 420 submitted dummies sent in from 44 countries.  In the end, 50 books were selected to make up the shortlist of the Dummy Award ’24.

My swimming pool book is selected for this shortlist! The final rank will be announced in 2025.