Purgatory
This exhibition is Gabe BC's first solo exhibition at C24 Gallery. Purgatory is an exploration of humanity through the lens of a machine, via Artificial Intelligence-generated images and our interactions with them. AI imagery is now everywhere, and the speed at which the images are generated is mind boggling. Amidst the relative infancy of this relentlessly evolving technology, many questions arise. Where is this going? How will this ability be used, and by whom? How do we know anymore what is real and what is machine generated? And what will be the legacy of these new capabilities?
Since 2005, Gabe BC has been creating interactive and time-based, multi-media sculptures. His work focuses on our ubiquitous relationship to media and technology, in the form of video sculptures, public video installations, and AI oracles. Exploring the dynamics of memorialization, digital preservation, and the capturing and collecting of personal memories as data, he has developed a body of work that simultaneously reaches back to his own cultural legacy while incorporating groundbreaking tools of digital communication.
Purgatory, for BC, is a kind of vigil or memorial for humanity. From a literal vigil composed of nine screens attempting to encapsulate all of humanity in symbols, to a prophetic slot machine oracle that gives advice for the end of the world, his newest collection probes the dynamics of co-creation between human and machine. Working in collaboration with artificial intelligence to carefully generate images for this show, he asks the question, "What does it mean to be human in a world where machines are evolving, learning and living beside us?" The answers are both prescient and cautionary.
