My first solo exhibition, ‘Artificial Childhood Memories,’ debuts on Joyn.xyz, curated by Fort Gallery NFT

In "Artificial Childhood Memories," I delve into the delicate interplay between technology and nostalgia. This exhibition explores the ways in which AI can be harnessed to recreate and reimagine our fading memories, shedding light on the malleability of the stories we tell ourselves.

The death of my father a little over a year ago led me to this project. Preparing for his funeral, my family and I went through hundreds of old photographs, which of course promoted a lot of reminiscing and storytelling. I was struck by how the photographs themselves had helped shape our memories. There were also many moments and events we recalled that were never photographed –  what if they had been? Would we remember them differently? 

Since I was around 9 years old and got my first camera (a Polaroid), I’ve been an avid photographer. I’ve never had a great memory, and it's getting worse as I get older. I feel grateful to have taken so many photographs of my life, myself, my family - they serve as guideposts to my past. But I also realize that the stories they tell are incomplete and unreliable.

Memory is a wondrous but fragile construct. It can both preserve and distort the past, and the advent of AI has brought this dichotomy to the forefront. Using AI as my creative collaborator, I've embarked on a journey to resurrect my past, breathing new life into old photographs and half-remembered moments. This process of memory reconstruction highlights the dual nature of AI: a tool that both conjures and distorts our recollections, prompting us to question the stories we've held dear and rediscover stories we've overlooked.

"Artificial Childhood Memories" is an exploration of the evolving landscape of memory in the digital age. I hope it will prompt viewers to reflect on the stories that define them and the stories they choose to reshape. As we witness the transformative power of AI in shaping our recollections, we confront the evolving nature of memory, understanding that it is a canvas upon which we, and technology, continually paint and repaint the narratives that make us who we are.