"Dreams and Hallucinations" - Photography and Design masters final project exhibition

frodo-mordor-its-done.gif

This has been one of the most stressful experiences of my life. But, I'm very happy with the result.

I'll post a few more detail shots of the exhibit. It consists of six risography poster prints, two big-ass vinyl prints, a video and a zine.

Here's the artist statement:

Humans dream. AI hallucinates.

For two decades I’ve enjoyed the benefits of being a white man in tech. Worldwide economic downturns seemed to glance off my career. During the 2008 financial crisis, people were still building websites. During Covid, SaaS products boomed as companies reached for IPO. My privilege appeared to be impermeable.

With the proliferation of AI, tech companies are gambling on the unproven potential of a digital workforce. Dreams and Hallucinations examines the question, “I guess I could quit coding but what else do I do if not that?” This quote has echoed throughout the online forums and discussion groups as my demographic reckons with our weakening professional value. Do I embrace the rapidly changing landscape, trading my dreams and aspirations for dreams and AI hallucinations? Or do I use my privilege to explore other options?

In a series of six sarcastic posters, photographs are combined to compare the traditional corporate headshot with a profession considered to be “AI-proof”, showing the character pondering options he has seen as plan B vs plan A. The posters are placed in the barrios of Poblenou and Eixample, areas with a high population of tech professionals. Risography is used to produce each poster; a technology invented for corporate reproduction now used for niche artistic printing. The posters are paired with a booklet exploring a conversation about career and white privilege with Claude Code.