Video Exploration of the Mobile –
In my first visual exploration of the ‘Balance of Power’ mobile I shot a number of stills using a wide aperture. This was to allow for only a narrow band of focus on each of the images. The goal was to add an air of mystery to the mobile and hopefully leave the viewer wanting to know more?
In part #2 of this ongoing visual exploration I shot some videos using my DSLR camera. My aim again was to add an air of mystery to the finished video clips. Below are the experimental results from this endeavour.
The Balance of Power – Unity in Bits Mobile
This is a complex piece that has many hidden layers to it. Below are some of the key points:
- The mobile comprises 11 lines of individually hand drawn elements that represent the ones and zeros of binary code.
- The binary code represented in the mobile spells the words ‘Unity in Bits’. It is a visual metaphor representing how our society is ultimately fractured by computers and their code. For example the harms of social media and the taking of artist work without permission.
- At least 10 of the mobile’s elements contain hidden messages from artists regarding their thoughts and feelings surrounding AI art. Their thoughts are hidden in this way because in terms of AI art generation they were never asked about the taking of their work without permission.
- Finally the piece asks the question – can our Unity be found in the ‘bits and bytes’ of a computer program? In order to fully access the augmented reality from a distance people need to come together in pairs. Although the augmented reality can be accessed by an individual the higher mobile elements need to be zoomed in on. One person needs to zoom in on an element while another augments from zoomed image. This again is a metaphor for us (humanity) coming together to solve the looming issues regarding AI and especially for artists AI art.
The Balance of Power (Unity in Bits) from Karyn Easton on Vimeo.
