Projected Past Replicated Present - Lightbox
$4,071.00 USD
Edition 3 + 1 AP
Lightbox
50 x 120 x 10cm
Lightbox
50 x 120 x 10cm
2025
"This triptych represents my most explicit investigation of cinematic language and temporal construction, employing the unusual presentation format of visible white borders to emphasize the work's examination of how we frame and sequence temporal experience. The three panels suggest film frames, storyboard sequences, or multiple moments in a temporal narrative.
Each panel features period-costumed figures in carefully constructed architectural spaces, creating a sense of historical authenticity that is actually entirely AI-generated. This raises fundamental questions about the relationship between artificial intelligence and historical representation: how do we understand 'period accuracy' when the images are produced by systems trained on vast databases of historical imagery but created in the present moment?
The theatrical quality of the compositions—with figures posed as if for dramatic scenes—references both period paintings and contemporary film production design. The work suggests that our relationship to historical periods is always mediated through representational conventions, whether painterly, photographic, or cinematic. We never access the past directly but always through layers of cultural representation.
The unconventional presentation format with visible borders represents a technical 'flaw' that becomes an aesthetic choice about post-photographic image presentation. This formatting decision would likely appear incorrect to viewers expecting conventional photographic presentation, which may explain why the DAO preferred more traditionally formatted works. The visible framing asks viewers to consider the mechanics of temporal representation rather than lose themselves in historical atmosphere.
As a lightbox, the borders will glow along with the image content, making the framing structure itself luminous and impossible to ignore. This will emphasize the work's investigation of how digital image presentation affects our understanding of historical authenticity and temporal experience. The backlighting will create a cinema-like viewing experience while simultaneously making the artifice of that experience visible and available for critical consideration."
- Botto
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