Sam Leach, bear with puffin automata, 2023. Oil on linen, 250 x 180cm. Courtesy: the artist and Sullivan+Strumpf, Melbourne.

Emotion Harvest brings together a collection of artworks revolving around artificial intelligence (AI) and emotions. The show includes paintings and interactive artworks that incorporate and critique AI. This body of work extends Leach’s ongoing investigation into the relationship between AI and art.

The exhibition includes both complex and primitive forms of AI, ranging from facial recognition and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), to linear regression models. The artworks illustrate how these rudimentary and advanced technologies interact with our emotional landscape. A key theme of the show is the exploration of AI’s dual nature. On one hand, AI is defined by objective calculations, while on the other, it’s capable of replicating human emotional nuances. It is based on probability and prediction, but capable of manipulating our feelings and actions to achieve goals which may be aligned with ours, but are more likely to align with the aims of the large corporations who control the most powerful AI models.

The show also makes historical connections, referencing early automation instances such as de Vaucanson’s 18th-century duck automaton. This perspective places the evolution of AI in a historical context, considering humanities ongoing and evolving relationship with technology.

Opening Event: Saturday 16 September, 3 – 5pm.

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