Ai-Da draws using cameras in her eyes and AI algorithms. She has her own ‘style’ of drawing; the works are completely original and recognisable as hers; as unsettling as this may be, it encourages us to reflect on what we humans do when we draw, and what we are handing over when we increasingly mechanise and digitise our worlds. There are two ways in which Ai-Da can draw; the first is through cameras in her eyes, the second is through her memory storage. The image is run through several series of AI algorithms that convert pixel coordinates into real space coordinates, which her robotic arm then creates in physical reality. Since Orwell and Huxley’s warnings are still relevant today, her style reflects early twentieth concerns including trauma and violence, as well as a break from a straightforward representational style. Her splintered, fractured drawings are destabilising – perhaps mirroring our current political and environmental tensions.
Ai-Da Self-portrait I, 2019, Pen on paper, 29 x 41.5cm