Walking in the streets of Turin with the phone in my hands, scrolling feeds and sending messages
A photobook of 4×4 grids: fifteen AI-generated frames and one fragment of text per page.
"Walking in the Streets of Turin with the Phone in My Hands, Scrolling Feeds and Sending Messages" is a photobook project that explores the intersection of our physical and digital experiences in the modern world. Through a series of AI-generated black and white images and fragmented text, the artist invites us to consider the impact of technology on our perception and memory of the urban landscape.
The project was born from a moment of realization during a walk through the bustling streets of Turin on March 28th, 2024. As the artist navigated the crowded Via Garibaldi, their attention divided between the physical world and the digital realm of their phone, they became acutely aware of the duality of their experience. This epiphany inspired them to create a visual record of the day's journey, not through traditional photography, but by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence.
The resulting photobook is a collection of 4×4 grids, each containing 15 AI-generated black and white images and a single text box with an abstract description of the artist's experience. The text, which varies from page to page, serves as a contextual anchor, grounding the ethereal visuals in the specific time and place of their creation.
The images themselves are a mesmerizing blend of blurred figures in crowded streets, with some individuals in focus while others are lost in a swirl of motion and light. This visual approach captures the essence of the modern urban experience, where the boundaries between the individual and the collective, the real and the virtual, are constantly shifting and blurring.
The monochrome palette of the images lends them a timeless quality, as if they could be scenes from a distant past or glimpses of a possible future. The absence of color also serves to emphasize the interplay of light and shadow, the stark contrasts and soft gradations that define the urban landscape of Turin. Through these haunting, dreamlike visuals, the artist invites us to question the nature of memory in the digital age.
As we immerse ourselves in the pages of the photobook, we embark on a virtual dérive, a psychogeographic journey through the city as seen through the lens of an AI. The juxtaposition of text and image, the real and the artificial, challenges our perceptions of authenticity and authorship. It prompts us to consider the ways in which our digital devices mediate our experiences and shape our memories.
In an era where we increasingly rely on technology to navigate and document our lives, this project raises important questions about the subjective and emotional dimensions of our experiences. Can an AI-generated image truly capture the essence of a moment, the way a photograph taken by a human hand might? What does it mean to remember through the filter of algorithms and artificial intelligence?
Through its evocative visuals and fragmented text, this photobook opens a window into the strange, liminal space we inhabit in the age of digital ubiquity. It is a testament to the complex, multifaceted nature of our contemporary reality, where the boundaries between the physical and the virtual, the human and the machine, are becoming increasingly porous. It invites us to pause and reflect on the ways in which technology shapes our understanding of the world and ourselves — a reminder of the need to remain present and engaged, even as we embrace the possibilities of the digital age.
