-My art explores the intersection between memory, technology, and the human experience. By combining a wide range of digital and traditional technologies into hybrid forms, I aim to capture how our perceptions of ourselves, society, and history are continually reshaped by the tools we create. I am fascinated by how technology extends our reach beyond our physical form while confronting us with timeless questions: what does it mean to exist, connect, and face the unknown?

-It varies. Sometimes I will need to do a lot of research ahead of time, especially on the more complex art/science projects where I need to understand key aspects of the research taking place. Other times ideas come when listening to music. I have an extensive note taking system where I store ideas and notes from things I've read or watched, which I use to revisit trains of thought.

I generally work in an intuitive way. I put a lot of information into my brain and then trust it to guide me through to the parts that resonate with me the most.

At some point a work goes from idea to production, and then it's usually a case of just ploughing through it until it's complete and ready for exhibition.

-This year I completed an arts fellowship with the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Surrey here in the UK. I was working with scientists researching quantum biology, which is searching for instances where fleeting quantum effects may be taking place inside living organisms. From DNA mutation, magnetoreception, to oxygen transfer in our own lungs, there are many biological systems that seem to operate utilising quantum effects.

In response to this research, I created a video sculpture (a physical sculpture with a video screen as part of the form) called “A Cabinet of Intangible Curiosities” that referenced the way that 18th century aristocrats would have private collections of exotic artifacts gathered by explorers from around the globe, cataloged and arranged to present a vivid view of a strange and undiscovered world.

I presented the work to the researchers at their annual quantum biology conference and it was praised for presenting a complex and highly theoretical subject in a novel and engaging way that brought a new perspective to the public and the researchers themselves.

-It was always there. There was a profound feeling I had back when I plugged my first computer into our family TV. I could type things and they would appear on the screen. This sounds like nothing today, but it marked the point for me when a screen went from a passive interface, a piece of furniture that we just sat in front of and consumed content, into something that I could directly control and explore. It didn't matter that the graphics were low resolution and it was slow, it felt new and full of potential and I knew that's what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. A grand claim for an eight year old, but I still stand by it.

-There is never going to be a clear distinction made, but Duchamp's “readymade’s” already challenged the question of authorship of the artist, and we are just scratching around in the post-modern and meta-modern landscape where we live now.

My feeling is that there is an innate human desire for intention in art. The output from AI tools is dazzling at times, but our brains rapidly become accustomed to new styles and techniques. With the public access to many of these tools, what will set apart the use of them? The strong ideas and intentions of creative people will shine through, once we've adjusted to the spectacle of this new technology, and it will be a little clearer who is responsible for what elements.

-I very much liked the core concept of exploring cutting edge creative use of AI through a specific historical art lens, namely Hokusai.

Through the residency I wanted a practical opportunity to use AI tools with the intention of making an artwork that interrogates something intrinsic about how they operate.

Art and technology are mirrors to ourselves, and we must remain aware of how they alter our reflection.

-I'm taking Hokusai’s process of trying to capture the essence of the things he drew - especially in his Manga series - as inspiration. I want to explore using AI driven image segmentation, where the algorithm takes an image and attempts to draw around and label the various parts that make up that image, such as ‘person’, ‘sky’, ‘trees’, etc. I'm interested in how the algorithm has been trained to understand the essence of what makes up these objects, even if sometimes it can get it quite wrong.

I plan to use image segmentation with video to extract labeled elements and produce a series of images and videos from them using my existing algorithmic photography techniques.

The end result should propose questions about how these algorithms see the world, with all their inaccuracies and innate biases. As in Philip K. Dick's novel “A Scanner Darkly”, how technology sees us has profound social and personal implications of how we are categorised and represented.

-As someone who has historically implemented all of the core algorithms for my artworks myself, I am acutely aware that I am inviting a somewhat faceless collaborator into my work. As with any collaborator they will have their strengths and weaknesses, and I hope some surprises along the way.

Personally I'm less interested in generative AI in this instance. I think conceptually it's a powerful tool, but for this residency I'm focusing on utilising AI to perform largely automated tasks that would have traditionally taken a lot of manual work. In the long term, I see this area as the most useful and important application of AI algorithms.

-It depends on the type of stories you want to twll. Generative AI is great for pre-production and early idea stimulation. It's useful for fleshing out ideas and research. When it comes to generating finished visuals, it's amazing what an individual can do with these tools, and if you're looking to have a completely invented world, it's perfect for that.

However, for non fiction, documentary type work, integrity of the image would still seem to be of prime importance.

Whatever the technology, good storytelling will always win out over a bad story even with a flashy presentation.

-Don't worry about choosing one technology over the other. There is no right choice other than the one that allows you to manifest your ideas into a workable and sharable state in a reasonable amount of time. Technologies are born and they die, and sometimes you just find yourself on the wrong boat. I've been there a bunch of times. Just get on with the important bit: the art.