We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jingyi Gao. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jingyi below.
Jingyi , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
Formerly a dancer, My journey began with capturing the fleeting beauty of bodily movement on stage. This fascination evolved into an exploration of the intersection between reality and virtuality, tangible and abstract.
It Is Us is a mixed-media project exploring the symbiotic relationship between humans and technology. Using A.I. text-to-image as the tool, through photographs, sculptures, and video installations, the project seeks to reimagine parts of the human body and explore the symbiotic relationship between humans and technology from Artificial Intelligence’s perspective.
Technology serves as tools designed to enhance human abilities, ranging from wearables like eyeglasses and pedometers to more advanced devices such as cameras and smartphones. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in this work draws attention to its increasingly strong capability of mimicking aspects of human intelligence and taking on a more human-like appearance, which has raised concerns about its revolutionary potential. Visual artist Robert Pepperell states in his Posthuman Manifesto: ‘If we can think of machines, then machines can think; if we can think of machines that think, then machines can think of us.’
I aim to further explore the idea that ‘machines can think of us.’ If the machine may eventually possess the ability to think, what would it think about its creator, the human? What similarities exist between humans and machines? What do we perceive differently when the gaze turns towards us? How can we reconsider the binary relationship between humans and machines?
Driven by a combination of curiosity, hope, and apprehension regarding the uncertain future of human-machine interaction, my research enters through the intricate depths of our bodies. Specifically, my investigation centers on two vital body parts: the skin and the eyes. To explore what will A.I. visualize these parts, I input descriptions into Wombo Arts, a text-based artificial intelligence generator that creates images based on its comprehension of the inputted data. Subsequently, I transform these generated digital images into tangible physical objects, including sculptures and interactive installations, to bring to life the notion of the body as a mechanism and its interdependent relationship with technology.
I fed descriptions of their functions into a text-based AI generator to produce a range of images. For the skin, I focused on scarring, the body’s automated self-repairing response to an external threat. I used AI-generated interpretations of scars and used a laser etching machine to recreate the AI-generated images onto pink-tinted plexiglass, representing layers of human skin with intersecting lines imitating scar tissue. Next, I used AI-generated images interpreting eyes in two ways. First, I laid 22 large, clear glass beads over 22 AI-generated images to represent “machine eyes” and organized them in rows on a table, inviting participants to peer into them. Four of the eyes are connected to cameras with remote displays. As the viewer looks into the cameras, they cannot see that they are being looked at, hinting at the ways machine vision is embedded in daily life. In the second manifestation, the AI-generated images are used as a lens I added to a pinhole camera and used to create large-scale portraits. Subjects were asked to gaze back at the metaphorical AI “eye” for a 10-minute exposure time. The images are uncanny as the AI “eye” vision collides with the overall black and white aesthetic that references early photography, particularly Daguerreotypes.
IT IS US seeks to dispense with the idea that humans and technologies have a binary relationship and encourages a new way of discussing technology and us.
Jingyi , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Jingyi Gao, a New York-based multi-media artist, delves into the intricate relationship between technology and the human body through her works in photography, video, and sculpture. Formerly a dancer, My journey began with capturing the fleeting beauty of bodily movement on stage. This fascination evolved into an exploration of the intersection between reality and virtuality, tangible and abstract. In my interdisciplinary practice, i aim to evoke contemplation on the complexity of the human form, inviting viewers to engage with its diverse perceptions.
I want my art serves as a mirror, reflecting the symbiotic bond between technology and humanity. I employ cutting-edge techniques alongside traditional media to unveil the interplay between the structural and the manifested aspects of the body. Through fantastical and thought-provoking visual representations, I want to spark fresh perspectives on how we perceive and experience the human form. Ultimately, my work seeks to cultivate a richer understanding and deeper appreciation of the human body, urging us to embrace novel ways of seeing and interpreting ourselves.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
For a long time, being a dancer was one of my most important identities.During my dance studies, I was passionate about exploring myself and the world around me through the lens. In this exploration, I discovered that a photograph captures far more than a frozen moment. The imagery within a framed photograph can continuously extend beyond its boundaries, providing audiences with information, emotions, and meanings that transcend its physical dimensions and pixel values. A spontaneous gesture captured by my lens, influenced by elements such as light, shadow, and time, can yield unexpected visual effects and emotional associations, offering countless possibilities for interpretation.
It wasn’t until the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, when, like many others whose lives and work came to a standstill, I seized this opportunity to reimagine the possibilities for my future. I began contemplating my relationship with external spaces and the boundary between humans and non-humans. I started to reevaluate photography, an art form I had previously pursued only as a hobby and for emotional expression. Could this become my new outlet for self-expression? Fueled by uncertainty about the future and a desire to explore the world of visual arts, I embarked on a journey to study photography at the MFA Photo, Video and Related Media program at School of Visual Arts, New York.
Three years have passed, and the roles of a photographer and visual artist have become just as significant in my life as that of a dancer. These roles are distinct but interrelated, giving rise to creative themes closely tied to my personal experiences.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative, is the ability to explore and express myself across different artistic forms. Whether it’s through dance, photography, or other visual arts, the journey of self-discovery and the freedom to convey emotions, thoughts and experience to others is incredibly fulfilling. Additionally, the interplay between various artistic roles, such as being a dancer and visual artist, allows for a rich and multifaceted creative journey. It results a deeper understanding of myself and the world, as well as the opportunity to connect with audiences on multiple levels. This multi-dimensional exploration and endless possibilities for self-expression are truly rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative
Contact Info:
- Instagram: lolagao12 / jing-picture
Image Credits
Jingyi Gao