Artist Statement
My work reflects on the social expectation of women to revert to traditional gender roles (predominantly those related to domestic labour and child-care) while continuing to maintain high standards in every other aspect of their lives. Following the legacy of feminist artists such Martha Rosler and Cindy Sherman who explore the relationship between their art practice and the ongoing expectations of women within domesticity, my practice is informed by a thematic examination of the concepts of perfection and authenticity and how the broader culture influences our understanding of these two concepts. In order to do so I critically look at Instagram as an archive of digital images and filters, and I examine the medium itself as a means by which those images are distributed and negotiated as instances where fake perceives as perfect and perfection perceives as authentic.
My creative process is contemplated in relation to computers and technology, in particular open source code and generative tools. AI machine learning plays a significant role in my work, especially with regards to the generated image. Additionally, my practice encompasses digital and new media tools, mobile apps, film, autobiographical and manipulated writing, spoken word, and glitch.
My work coordinates with Marshall McLuhan’s trajectory and understanding of the media.[1] As such, it highlights the structural similarity between domestic labour and code-driven systems, both of which operate as invisible environments that lay the foundation upon which everything else is built. Moreover, it considers the dual meaning of code - as a functional command which runs in the background of a program on one hand and as a social code of conduct or as a set of acceptable behaviours on the other.
My practice throughout the year has been experimental in nature as I have explored various aesthetics of code based visuals, social behaviours and technological and social media filters.
Dystopia of the Mind (2020) Is a series of digital manipulated watercolour paintings inspired by Tony Oursler’s projected faces. These images, published on my Instagram account under the name @Beatricevonmillhouse, challenge viewers to reframe the concept of a mask or filter within the social media context.
A Dream of an Absent Mind (2020) is a single channel, 0:36 second video created using generative code as a means of animating a manipulated self-portrait. The final outcome, an assemblage of all layered images, produces many “alters”, each of which aims to project another self and together they mask the core until it is no longer visible.
U̐̐̐n͚͚i͓̊̊̊̊̊̊̊q̥̥̥̥̥u̫̫̫̫̫̫̫̫̫̫̫̫̫̫ͧͧͧë́͌ (2021) is a single channel video, 0:40 second long produced using AI Machine learning and Generative code. A series of images depicting the aging process forms a flowing sequence which operates in the background. The top layer, operates by code, shows a projection repeating the word “unique” in reference to the uniqueness of each hidden image as well as the uniqueness of the viewer.
The Mr and Mrs (2021) is a Single channel video, 1:30 minute long inspired by the philosophy and work of Memo Akten and his interpretation of the way we look at the world.[2] Generated using StyleGAN (Generative Adversarial Network) and accompanied by a dramatic sound composition the video depicts various abstract images which, due to a subliminal code (the title of the work) translate by the viewer to recognizable images of male and female figures.
In:Voke (2021) is a Single channel video, 2:31 minute long.
“Voke (a feminine and masculine name). For the female, Voke can come across as mean but she’s really the loveliest girl out there, she’s loyal to her friends, family and partner. […she is] very creative [...] unique […], proud, but humble [...]. Voke is the best.”[3]
Invoke (verb)[4]
1. Call on (a deity or spirit) in prayer, as a witness, or for inspiration.
2. Cite or appeal to (someone or something) as an authority for an action or in support of an argument.
3. IT: to make a computer program start working.
In:voke (2021) brings together the knowledge gained from the experiments and methods discussed above and ties both codes together into a unified, contextualised result. In this work I appropriate Georges Bataille’s text "The Cruel Practice of Art" (1949)[5] and use it as a prompt through which an AI machine learning model generates images. The model serves as a tool through which I process my personal experiences and the changes that occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
[1] https://designopendata.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/themediumisthemassage_marshallmcluhan_quentinfiore.pdf
[3] https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Voke
[4] https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/invoke
[5] https://supervert.com/elibrary/georges-bataille/cruel-practice-of-art