Digital Porcelain
My project combines my multimedia journalism background, interest in AI and robotics, and Chinese heritage. It envisions AI and robots as tools to preserve and elevate traditional craftsmanship. The sculpture’s creation is a labor-intensive process, involving layered molding and structuring. Its rough paper-mâché surface, primitive blue painting, and imperfect paper cutting emphasize the “artist’s hand” and “human touch,” contrasting with the high-tech AI-generated designs. A holographic projection of social media icons and electronics playfully questions whether advanced technology is merely an illusion, with the vase—the human craft—remaining the only tangible reality in this high-tech age.
I shape the sculpture using recycled cardboard boxes, reinforcing it with masking tape and paper clay made from newspaper and flour. I then use generative AI software with prompts focusing on my research findings on future technologies and living in 2050, together with descriptions of traditional blue and white porcelain features to create intricate designs, which I then hand-cut and paint onto the surface of the sculpture. The project also features a holographic projection and a video collage documenting the creation of the sculpture, and challenges with AI-generated designs, projected onto the wall for historical and creative context.
