Explore the biases, limitations and opportunities of AI in photography in a gallery setting.

Bedford is one of the UK’s centres for photography, having housed FujiFilm’s offices for 40 years. Bedford Creative Arts Community Portrait project captured portraits of Bedford’s diverse multi-cultural community as they are today, using both historic (cyanotype and glass-plate) photography methods and the latest digital Fujifilm technology. They have invited artists Arnab Chakravarty and Fergus Laidlaw to build an interactive gallery exhibit that invites visitors to explore the inherent limitations of AI in its attempt to replicate human experiences through visual media. The exhibit will be prototype tested in an exhibition opening Sept 2024 until Feb 2025.

The exhibit invites viewers to select a community portrait (taken using any traditional photography medium) and invites a computer to “read” it. An advanced AI algorithm will interpret the chosen image and produce a descriptive text prompt which will generate a digital counterpart image. Participants can interact with and refine the generated image to better match the original photograph. The prompts and generated images will be archived for subsequent visualisation beyond the exhibition and for research purposes.

Visitors interact with both the original photograph and, through collaboration with AI, in shaping a new image. This hands-on approach will educate visitors on the limits of representation with these tools, revealing the challenges and limitations of using AI to generate authentic photographs representative of different cultures and aesthetics.

Visitors will also be able to observe and reflect on the differences in texture, context, and emotional resonance both traditional photography and AI generated photography produce. By engaging with these themes, the project contributes to current discussions on the cultural significance of photography, the representation of human bodies in AI-generated images, and the limitations of AI art in comprehending human essence. The hope is to uncover whether AI can be nudged into creating representative, imperfect images that resonate with authenticity. This exploration will highlight the contrasts between the polished perfection of AI art and the genuine imperfections found in real-world photography.

The goal of Bedford Creative Arts is to challenge and expand the boundaries of AI’s artistic capabilities, questioning the potential and limitations of machine learning in capturing the essence of everyday human life.

Contact

Ami Aubrey, Programme Producer

Lead organisation

Bedford Creative Arts

Team

Ami Aubrey, Producer
Fergus Laidlaw, Artist
Arnab Chakravarty, Artist