Fossils of the Future is a fully analog translation of digital images. These images are generated with AI by me or generated by strangers and found by me. What does photography mean in a time when everyone can instantly create whatever image they desire?
In this project, pixels become tactile surfaces through the careful labor of different techniques: shooting, developing, printing, molding. What is generated so fast and endless reproducible is transformed into fragile, unique objects that carry the visible traces of hands-on processes.
I look for contradictions, polarities and frictions in time, materials, objectivity, truthfulness and ownership. Will these manual and material techniques bring digital surfaces to life?
136 x104 cm baryta prints
Fossils of the Future
Large baryta prints depicting synthetic fossils. By projecting these self-generated images onto the light-sensitive paper with a projector, digital pixels become visible on an analog, manually printed print. Because a projector doesn’t have a shutter speed, this is done manually, making each print unique.
42 sheet film negatives
Family Tree
A lightbox containing 42 analog sheet film positive negatives (4×5 inches). Shell-like shapes generated by myself using AI, then rephotographed with a large format camera and manually developed by myself. Grouped as a real family tree of a nonexistent life form.
47 x 33 cm plastic sheet with imprint
Imprints
Molds of shell-like figures, generated by unknown people using AI. I found them, collected them, and converted them into a 3D model that was printed with a 3D printer. This object was vacuum-sealed with a vacuum machine, creating a mold of thin white plastic. Because the paint on the 3D model flakes off during the process, the print is different every time and therefore unique.
