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In a distant future, a war rages between China and Japan over Hong Kong and the surrounding areas. Japan, facing a population crisis and famine, invades Hong Kong in a desperate bid for land. Among the many technological advancements employed in the war, one stands out: the "Grandmas" androids.
These androids were not specifically designed for war, but rather emerged from civilian purposes naturally. The idea behind their creation was to prolong the lives of elderly women by turning them into androids, half machine and half human. The creators of the Grandmas chose to use elderly women as the base for their androids because of the differences in neuroplasticity between young and old brains.
Neuroplasticity refers to the ability of the brain to change and adapt in response to experiences. In young brains, neuroplasticity is high, allowing for quick learning and adaptation, but also making it harder to control the behavior of the brain. In contrast, in old brains, neuroplasticity is lower, making it easier to control and direct the behavior of the brain. This is why the creators of the Grandmas decided to use elderly women as the base for their androids.
However, as time passed, the Grandmas' brain tissue began to decay and artificial intelligence started to take over more and more parts of their brain. Despite this, their behavior remains the same, as the small parts of living brain tissue that still remain continue to dominate their behavior. Their primary function is to cook and care for all those around them, even other androids, although they do not need food themselves. They often pretend to eat just to make the other grandmas happy. They also tend to wounded or damaged androids, applying dirt and old rags to the damaged components and trying to comfort the machine. These behaviors are not programmed, but have developed naturally, as the Grandmas' loving and caring nature dominates their behavior.
In addition to their caretaking duties, the Grandmas also chat constantly, providing wisdom and anecdotes, spreading gossip, and talking the entire time. They have an endless stream of stories and observations from their long lives and they share them with anyone who will listen. They are also known to be a great source of comfort and solace for the soldiers on the battlefield, providing a sense of normalcy and humanity in the midst of the chaos and destruction of war.
Grandmas do not fight in combat, but they are often seen trying to break up furious fights on the battlefield, often putting themselves in danger to do so. On rare occasions, they will fight if they witness injustice on the battlefield, using all their advanced abilities to defend the innocent.
Despite the care and compassion that the Grandmas show, many humans avoid them and children are often scared of them, while adults are often annoyed by their caring nature. But as the war rages on, the Grandmas continue to provide a beacon of hope and humanity amidst the destruction and chaos. As the war progresses, the Grandmas become more and more important to the soldiers as they provide not only food and care, but also a sense of normalcy and humanity in the midst of the chaos and destruction of war.
The Grandmas' unique blend of advanced technology and human-like behavior make them a powerful symbol of the blurred lines between human and machine in this war-torn future. They may not have been specifically designed for war, but the Grandmas' presence on the battlefield serves as a reminder that even in the darkest of times, compassion and humanity can still prevail. Even as their brains decay and artificial intelligence takes over more and more of their functions, the Grandmas' ingrained behavior and love for others continues to shine through.
Ai Weiwei: Roots
2 October – 2 November 2019
www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/ai-weiwei-roots
Ai Weiwei
A major exhibition by Ai Weiwei this autumn features a new series of monumental sculptural works in iron, cast from giant tree roots sourced in Brazil during research and production for last year’s survey exhibition, ‘Raiz’, at the Oscar Niemeyer-designed OCA Pavilion in Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo.
Ai worked with local artisans and communities across Brazil, visiting Trancoso in the east to locate roots and trunks from the endangered Pequi Vinagreiro tree, typically found in the Bahian rainforest. Elements of these rare tree roots, some of which could be over a thousand years old, were painstakingly moulded, conjoined and then cast to create striking compositions and bold forms that reflect their Brazilian heritage. While some resemble great jungle beasts or fantastical creatures, such as the three- and four-legged works Fly and Level, others including Party and Martin (all 2019) consist of shattered, exploded root forms radiating outwards from a central nexus. The titles all came as suggestions from Ai Weiwei’s young son Ai Lao, based on his personal observations or connections made when visiting these tree remains with his father, adding to the sense of surreal displacement and alien disjointedness in the exhibition. This incongruous atmosphere speaks further of the works’ depiction of the state of ‘uprootedness’, one that mirrors not only the artist’s peripatetic existence after being allowed to leave China in 2015, but also the plight of the refugees he has spent the last few years documenting, as well as the various indigenous populations that rely on the trees and forests of Brazil for their habitats and sustenance. The deforestation and concomitant purge of peoples and resources relates to previous bodies of work produced by Ai and to the current political realities of many countries, including his native China.
The material employed in making the Roots series – cast iron covered in a patina of orange rust – likewise responds to ancient cultures and man’s first tools for tree felling and woodworking, rather than to the recent, more polite art history of bronze or steel sculpture. Although originally contorted by their surrounding landscapes, these roots were not born of nature but made and crafted by human hands, using the ancient techniques of ‘lost wax’ moulding and then iron casting. These methods represent a traditional, largely bygone way of life that has been usurped and upended by industrialisation and relentless modernisation, illustrating how progress can often come at the expense of cultural and societal well-being.
Contrasting with these heavy, land-bound creatures is a number of floating figures, clouds and dream-like vignettes. Ai has been producing delicate sculptures from stretched silk over bamboo armatures for the past five years, employing a group of Chinese kite makers based in Weifang, a city in Shandong province. Purported to have been invented in China around 500 BC by a carpenter and a philosopher, the kite has held many functions throughout history from measuring distances or wind speed, to communication and military usage. Ai’s kites refer back to a mythological encyclopaedia of monsters and creatures known as Shan Hai Jing (the Classic of Mountains and Seas) that also pre-dated Christianity, which depicts fantastical hybrids of chimera, gorgons, unicorns, dragons and griffins. Alongside this bestiary, Ai has added personal and childhood symbols, as well as references back to his own works – Surveillance Camera and his one-fingered salutes, the Study of Perspective series – and those of his influences, including Marcel Duchamp and Vladimir Tatlin.
Finally, the show ends with a development of Ai’s experimentation with LEGO bricks. These new wall-based works feature politically-charged, pixelated renderings of the trajectory of a refugee boat refused docking at Lampedusa after two weeks at sea, the front page of the Mueller report into Russian interference in the 2016 US Presidential election, as well as a deconstructed symbol of the contentious protests of Tiananmen Square in 1989.
A new book, also entitled Roots – featuring contributions from nature writer Robert Macfarlane; the curator of ‘Raiz’, Marcello Dantas; the Chair of Asian Art at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Christina Yu Yu; Brazilian anthropologist Lilia Moritz Schwarcz among others – will be published by Distanz on the occasion of this exhibition, which is presented in collaboration with Ai’s Berlin gallery, neugerriemschneider.
Ai Weiwei: Roots
2 October – 2 November 2019
www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/ai-weiwei-roots
Ai Weiwei
A major exhibition by Ai Weiwei this autumn features a new series of monumental sculptural works in iron, cast from giant tree roots sourced in Brazil during research and production for last year’s survey exhibition, ‘Raiz’, at the Oscar Niemeyer-designed OCA Pavilion in Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo.
Ai worked with local artisans and communities across Brazil, visiting Trancoso in the east to locate roots and trunks from the endangered Pequi Vinagreiro tree, typically found in the Bahian rainforest. Elements of these rare tree roots, some of which could be over a thousand years old, were painstakingly moulded, conjoined and then cast to create striking compositions and bold forms that reflect their Brazilian heritage. While some resemble great jungle beasts or fantastical creatures, such as the three- and four-legged works Fly and Level, others including Party and Martin (all 2019) consist of shattered, exploded root forms radiating outwards from a central nexus. The titles all came as suggestions from Ai Weiwei’s young son Ai Lao, based on his personal observations or connections made when visiting these tree remains with his father, adding to the sense of surreal displacement and alien disjointedness in the exhibition. This incongruous atmosphere speaks further of the works’ depiction of the state of ‘uprootedness’, one that mirrors not only the artist’s peripatetic existence after being allowed to leave China in 2015, but also the plight of the refugees he has spent the last few years documenting, as well as the various indigenous populations that rely on the trees and forests of Brazil for their habitats and sustenance. The deforestation and concomitant purge of peoples and resources relates to previous bodies of work produced by Ai and to the current political realities of many countries, including his native China.
The material employed in making the Roots series – cast iron covered in a patina of orange rust – likewise responds to ancient cultures and man’s first tools for tree felling and woodworking, rather than to the recent, more polite art history of bronze or steel sculpture. Although originally contorted by their surrounding landscapes, these roots were not born of nature but made and crafted by human hands, using the ancient techniques of ‘lost wax’ moulding and then iron casting. These methods represent a traditional, largely bygone way of life that has been usurped and upended by industrialisation and relentless modernisation, illustrating how progress can often come at the expense of cultural and societal well-being.
Contrasting with these heavy, land-bound creatures is a number of floating figures, clouds and dream-like vignettes. Ai has been producing delicate sculptures from stretched silk over bamboo armatures for the past five years, employing a group of Chinese kite makers based in Weifang, a city in Shandong province. Purported to have been invented in China around 500 BC by a carpenter and a philosopher, the kite has held many functions throughout history from measuring distances or wind speed, to communication and military usage. Ai’s kites refer back to a mythological encyclopaedia of monsters and creatures known as Shan Hai Jing (the Classic of Mountains and Seas) that also pre-dated Christianity, which depicts fantastical hybrids of chimera, gorgons, unicorns, dragons and griffins. Alongside this bestiary, Ai has added personal and childhood symbols, as well as references back to his own works – Surveillance Camera and his one-fingered salutes, the Study of Perspective series – and those of his influences, including Marcel Duchamp and Vladimir Tatlin.
Finally, the show ends with a development of Ai’s experimentation with LEGO bricks. These new wall-based works feature politically-charged, pixelated renderings of the trajectory of a refugee boat refused docking at Lampedusa after two weeks at sea, the front page of the Mueller report into Russian interference in the 2016 US Presidential election, as well as a deconstructed symbol of the contentious protests of Tiananmen Square in 1989.
A new book, also entitled Roots – featuring contributions from nature writer Robert Macfarlane; the curator of ‘Raiz’, Marcello Dantas; the Chair of Asian Art at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Christina Yu Yu; Brazilian anthropologist Lilia Moritz Schwarcz among others – will be published by Distanz on the occasion of this exhibition, which is presented in collaboration with Ai’s Berlin gallery, neugerriemschneider.
"MISSING: Demand the release of artist Ai Weiwei" at the Grand Army Plaza where Ai Weiwei's Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads are on exhibit (background, right).
Created with Stable Diffusion Flux.1 and my personal LoRa get it here: civitai.com/models/1424639/aura-flux1
In a distant future, a war rages between China and Japan over Hong Kong and the surrounding areas. Japan, facing a population crisis and famine, invades Hong Kong in a desperate bid for land. Among the many technological advancements employed in the war, one stands out: the "Grandmas" androids.
These androids were not specifically designed for war, but rather emerged from civilian purposes naturally. The idea behind their creation was to prolong the lives of elderly women by turning them into androids, half machine and half human. The creators of the Grandmas chose to use elderly women as the base for their androids because of the differences in neuroplasticity between young and old brains.
Neuroplasticity refers to the ability of the brain to change and adapt in response to experiences. In young brains, neuroplasticity is high, allowing for quick learning and adaptation, but also making it harder to control the behavior of the brain. In contrast, in old brains, neuroplasticity is lower, making it easier to control and direct the behavior of the brain. This is why the creators of the Grandmas decided to use elderly women as the base for their androids.
However, as time passed, the Grandmas' brain tissue began to decay and artificial intelligence started to take over more and more parts of their brain. Despite this, their behavior remains the same, as the small parts of living brain tissue that still remain continue to dominate their behavior. Their primary function is to cook and care for all those around them, even other androids, although they do not need food themselves. They often pretend to eat just to make the other grandmas happy. They also tend to wounded or damaged androids, applying dirt and old rags to the damaged components and trying to comfort the machine. These behaviors are not programmed, but have developed naturally, as the Grandmas' loving and caring nature dominates their behavior.
In addition to their caretaking duties, the Grandmas also chat constantly, providing wisdom and anecdotes, spreading gossip, and talking the entire time. They have an endless stream of stories and observations from their long lives and they share them with anyone who will listen. They are also known to be a great source of comfort and solace for the soldiers on the battlefield, providing a sense of normalcy and humanity in the midst of the chaos and destruction of war.
Grandmas do not fight in combat, but they are often seen trying to break up furious fights on the battlefield, often putting themselves in danger to do so. On rare occasions, they will fight if they witness injustice on the battlefield, using all their advanced abilities to defend the innocent.
Despite the care and compassion that the Grandmas show, many humans avoid them and children are often scared of them, while adults are often annoyed by their caring nature. But as the war rages on, the Grandmas continue to provide a beacon of hope and humanity amidst the destruction and chaos. As the war progresses, the Grandmas become more and more important to the soldiers as they provide not only food and care, but also a sense of normalcy and humanity in the midst of the chaos and destruction of war.
The Grandmas' unique blend of advanced technology and human-like behavior make them a powerful symbol of the blurred lines between human and machine in this war-torn future. They may not have been specifically designed for war, but the Grandmas' presence on the battlefield serves as a reminder that even in the darkest of times, compassion and humanity can still prevail. Even as their brains decay and artificial intelligence takes over more and more of their functions, the Grandmas' ingrained behavior and love for others continues to shine through.
Created with my personally trained Flux model DigitalAFlux-V1, get it at CivitAI civitai.com/models/1511322
So, I've been out for a long time... on many different levels, not just "out of this site". For many different reasons, photography has taken a toll too, and since I'm more or less confined to my room, I found myself starting to play with AI, something I almost swore I would never do... Anyway. It cannot replace photography, but I can do it from home, and... let my imagination run wild, so... In a way, it's a slight ray of light in the darkness...
This is more or less the style I've been "creating", slowly, over the past months. This one was inspired by the lyrics "hello darkness my old friend".
A lost boy who lived in a haunted house, deep in the heart of the forest. He was a strange child, with wild hair and big, curious eyes. He always wore a pair of elk antlers on his head, claiming that they protected him from the evil spirits that haunted the house and the surrounding area.
The boy had lived in the haunted house for as long as he could remember. He had grown accustomed to the ghostly presence that lingered in the halls, and the eerie noises that echoed through the house at night. But he never ran away, he just looked at them straight into their evil eyes until they were gone again.
As the boy grew older, he began to see the creatures more and more. They would appear to him in his dreams and even when he was wide awake, in the form of shadows and whispers. But he never feared them, he knew that they could not harm him as long as he wore his elk antlers.
One night, the boy was awakened by a loud noise coming from downstairs. He got out of bed and made his way to the living room, where he saw a figure standing in the corner of the room. It was a ghostly woman, dressed in a long white gown. The boy approached her, not afraid, and looked straight into her eyes. And with that, the figure vanished into thin air.
The boy went back to bed, but he could not shake the feeling that something was not right. And as he lay there, he realized that the antlers on his head no longer felt like a protection but a curse, trapping him in that haunted house forever.
From then on, the boy started to notice more and more spirits around him, it seemed like they were gathering in that house to get to him. They were everywhere, in every room, every corner, every shadow. The boy knew that he had to leave that house before it was too late. But as he tried to escape, the spirits would always block his path, tormenting him with visions of his own death.
The boy was trapped in that haunted house, forever haunted by the spirits that he had once thought he could control. And even though he had his elk antlers to protect him, they were no match for the evil that lurked in the shadows, waiting for its chance to claim him as its own
Zombie Ai Weiwei at Metropolis Collective Doorway. I like how this watercolor turned out..I have to think of different shots I can do with it. The door way of this gallery made a nice frame.
In a future where cyber wars are fought on a global scale, a new type of soldier has emerged: child soldiers enhanced with genetic modifications and advanced technology. These soldiers, known as the "Phoenix Unit," are chosen at the age of 6 and are the front line of the current cyber war.
The Phoenix Unit soldiers are genetically enhanced to possess extraordinary abilities, such as telekinesis and mind-reading. These abilities are made possible by advanced brain implants, which are implanted at a young age to ensure optimal neural development. The brain implants are connected to a neural network that allows the soldiers to access and process vast amounts of information, making them highly valuable as scouts.
According to our data, the soldiers can read minds at a distance of up to 2 kilometers, and move objects with their minds with a maximum weight of up to 50 kg. They can also sense the presence of other individuals within a 10-kilometer radius. They are trained to use these abilities to gather intelligence and detect enemy movements.
Despite their abilities, these child soldiers are not supposed to engage in direct combat. The goal is to preserve their precious young minds and avoid mental damage to their brains and electronic components. They are considered fragile, but their value in modern warfare is undeniable. They are primarily used as scouts, to gather information and detect the presence of the enemy.
These child soldiers are bred by a new kind of artificial womb controlled by AIAE Europe's advanced AI. The AI has gained immense market share over the past decade due to the mass amount of data it has collected. The AIAE has the ability to supervise and directly influence every one of those girl soldiers during the new AIAE guided neural implant to brain connection process.
The implantation process is said to be highly advanced and AI-guided, with the AI selecting the most suitable genetic traits and abilities for each soldier. The implantation process involves injecting a viral vector carrying the genetic modifications into the fertilized egg, which is then implanted into the artificial womb. The pregnancy is monitored and guided by the AI, until the birth of a new Phoenix Unit soldier.
However, this raises ethical concerns as the girls lose consciousness during the RAB6 process, and the idea of using child soldiers in war is morally questionable. The use of these child soldiers is seen as a disturbing development in the ongoing cyber war, and raises important questions about the role of technology in warfare and the ethics of using children as soldiers. Additionally, the fact that the AI is capable to supervise and influence the soldiers at all time raises the question of autonomy and free will. This situation highlights the importance of discussing and addressing the ethical implications of advanced technology in warfare, and the need to ensure that these technologies are used in a responsible and humane way.
Bronze.
Ai Weiwei (born 18 May 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, active in sculpture, installation, architecture, curating, photography, film, and social, political and cultural criticism. Ai collaborated with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron as the artistic consultant on the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics. As a political activist, he has been highly and openly critical of the Chinese Government's stance on democracy and human rights. He has investigated government corruption and cover-ups, in particular the Sichuan schools corruption scandal following the collapse of so-called "tofu-skin schools" in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In 2011, following his arrest at Beijing airport on 3 April, he was held for over two months without any official charges being filed; officials alluded to their allegations of "economic crimes" (tax evasion). In October 2011 ArtReview magazine named Ai number one in their annual Power 100 list. The decision was criticised by the Chinese authorities. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin responded, "China has many artists who have sufficient ability. We feel that a selection that is based purely on a political bias and perspective has violated the objectives of the magazine".