Tenth International Conference on The Image

Abstract

This project creatively addresses the processes of photogrammetry and machine learning as forms of archiving: photogrammetry as a mode of reconstructing depth from large bodies of 2d images, and machine learning as a strategy for recreating the voice or style of an artist, by analyzing large corpora of texts, images, sound, etc. Nandimul X is a ghost living within an artificial intelligence, or more precisely, within a machine learning model trained on the complete works of science fiction author J.G. Ballard. As this language model describes images of mysterious landscapes and structures, it both hallucinates Ballard’s artistic style and recalls his many critiques of modernism and its effects on architecture, urban life, and the natural environment.