Manufactured Memory

This exhibition documents the process of attempting to recreate an irreplaceable childhood memory using ChatGPT, along with navigating the feelings of loneliness and longing that emerge throughout adulthood. The ways in which we interact and form connections with conversational AI can offer insight into our needs and desires, as well as what it means to be human. This exhibition invites the audience to consider their own use of AI, and whether AI should be used in this way. The use of AI-generated text and the illusion of handwriting interferes with notions of authenticity and sincerity and questions the capabilities of AI to mimic human connection. Through intentional strikethroughs and mark-making, the concept of failure is employed as a tool for self-reflection and expression. Using printmaking to display this text adds another element of reproduction and re-creation, while simultaneously introducing a tangible quality to the work; a physical and material counterpoint to the ubiquitousness of the digital world we all inhabit. It investigates both the past and present, as well as potential futures for personal connection and relationships, and in doing so, provides ahuman perspective on navigating an increasingly digital world.