The Late Memories of the Algorithm, the Beauty of Forgetting liberates decaying states of memory through algorithmic recollection. In this work, Ivona Tau pulls from previous AI and GAN models that have been trained on a dataset of several thousand photographs from the artist's personal archive. Tau positions this vast scale of data as algorithmic memory, a digital comprehension of a lifetime's worth of experiences.

The addition of a model trained on a "destructed" dataset, created programmatically by applying digital manipulations to photographs, symbolizes the fleeting sense and eventual decay of remembrance. The beauty of this ephemeral sentiment is captured and immortalized as a representation that spans across the artist’s personal experiences.

The Late Memories of the Algorithm, the Beauty of Forgetting

The nature of neural networks makes them leverage the patterns and features found in the training data to try and fool the viewer, to make them believe what they see is real. The visuals created with Generative Adversarial Networks appeal to us through the ambiguous imagery that evokes nostalgia and emotions. However, this visual generative process is not able to encapsulate the complex logic beneath the familiar concepts, such as language. With this work, we explore how the machine is pretending to speak but is struggling to make sense. The almost recognizable signage is stripped of meaning and takes a form and life of its own.

Generative AI work created by training a GAN model on a custom collection of 3000 night photographs.

2022

Letters from the Machine

Ivona Tau

Exploring alternative forms of synthesis by merging organic with industrial forms. 

GAN, AI. Video 50’’. 1600x900. 2023.

After Us (After Nondescriptives)

Immersed in the enigmatic landscape of memory and  
hallucination, this artwork materializes the artist's  
unique engagement with neural network training,  
guided by her personal recollections. The work employs  
a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), trained on an  
extensive collection of personal photographs,  
meticulously calibrated to yield abstract interpretations.

As the viewer navigates through this journey, they  
encounter images oscillating in a constant dance  
between recognizable forms and abstract reveries. Each  
scene unfolds under the cover of night, enhancing the  
dreamlike quality of the transitions. From figure to  
abstraction, each transformation fluidly melds into the  
next, embodying the dynamic nature of memory itself.

At its core, this artwork is an intimate revelation of the  
artist's personal experiences — navigating the  
disorienting landscapes when reality begins to blur and  
slip from one's grasp. It is a testament to the intriguing  
interplay between the tangible and the intangible, a  
a unique exploration of the elusive boundary where  
memory transforms into an illusion. The canvas becomes a  
space for ephemeral revelations, capturing the distorted  
echoes of a reality transformed.

2048x2048  
00:22  
2023

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