Goddess in the machine

“As we enter a post-digital age, our perception of beauty is undergoing a transformation. In this interactive, we explore how the interplay of AI, AR and 3D graphics might allow for experimentation in how we adorn, mask or express ourselves.” – Junior Major and Jess Herrington

Hollywood has long dictated our ideals of beauty, but what happens when those ideals are increasingly influenced by digital platforms and culture? From social media filters to generative AI tools, technology has the capacity to change how we look and how we see ourselves. As we spend more time in our virtual personas, what new forms of the goddess will emerge? The results could be striking, powerful, surreal or surprising, a digital reflection of the goddess’ limitless possibilities.

Led by Junior Major in collaboration with artist Jess Herrington, this experience invites you to try on a series of wearable artworks. Blending word prompts and sample images, Herrington created and reworked a series of looks using Stable Diffusion, a deep-learning AI model, as well as passing them through other AI systems (often reworking images back and forth, many times in some cases). Images were then adapted into 3D digital filters. The experience offers a glimpse into one possible future and speculates on how we might one day choose to express ourselves to the world.”