This spring, I had the opportunity to participate in a fascinating project with Lataamo Group. Citycenter in downtown Helsinki wanted to attract more visitors while one of the central metro stations undergoes renovation in July. The creative team at Lataamo Group had developed a unique concept that not only draws people in but also offers a completely new art experience. My task was to help implement this plan with them.
Creating an AI Artist
At the core of the project is a virtual artist, Ana Bauer, who “creates” the works displayed in the exhibition. Lataamo Group had created a backstory for the character, and my job was to develop this artist visually and “assist” her in creating the art. Using advanced AI models, we were able to produce a diverse and visually stunning collection of works. This resulted in a unique collection that combines the best aspects of technology and art.
Virtual Artist Ana Bauer
Anabel “Ana” Bauer is a German-Spanish artist who was born in Berlin in 1982. She originally gained fame as a photographer but has recently focused on creating generative art. Bauer draws inspiration from the fall of the Berlin Wall and the hope and positivity it generated. Her works aim to break down barriers between people and increase empathy, bringing painful subjects to light through images. Her work combines multilayered and experiential elements that evoke genuine emotions in the viewer. German Kaltblut magazine named Bauer one of the 20 most interesting artists of the 2020s. Bauer has exhibited her art outside her home country in several exhibitions, but “Helsinki Beneath” at Citycenter is her first commissioned exhibition.
Themed Works
The exhibition features ten works, each focusing on a significant landmark in Helsinki. These landmarks are Kiasma, Löyly, the Presidential Palace, the Sibelius Monument, Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, Uspenski Cathedral, Helsinki Cathedral, Oodi, Linnanmäki, and the Olympic Stadium. Each piece has its own theme, addressing societal issues and contemplating the direction of our world. This gives the exhibition depth and sparks discussion among visitors.
For each landmark, an AI model was created, based on photos taken from various angles and locations. This allows the AI to produce new, hallucinatory interpretations of these landmarks. The creation process involved incorporating different moods and messages into the images using silhouette images. This resulted in pictures with hidden elements that viewers might or might not notice.
Since the exhibition images will be 3–5 meters in size, the resolution of the images had to be extremely high. The width of the images is at least 15,000–20,000 pixels, with the largest images being up to 30,000 pixels wide. This enables the creation of extremely detailed images, making viewing the works particularly captivating. The small details in the images encourage viewers to examine the art more closely.
Exhibition Implementation
The aim of the exhibition is to provide visitors with an immersive art experience. Each work has a story behind it, told by the virtual artist Ana Bauer. This adds depth to the works and gives visitors a better understanding of the artist’s process and thoughts. The exhibition demonstrates how AI can serve as a creative tool and showcase the results of human and machine collaboration.
Challenges and Solutions
Such a project is truly challenging but extremely interesting. One of the biggest challenges was to create a unique concept and a sufficiently high-quality process through which we could produce art that not only looks good but also tells stories and evokes emotions. Training the AI required a lot of work and fine-tuning, but in the end, we succeeded in creating an artist and a process that meets expectations. The use of Stable Diffusion technology and our own training models made this project challenging but also very rewarding. It was great to see the final result of the project on the walls of Citycenter, and I hope that as many people as possible will visit the exhibition.
Thanks
I want to thank Lataamo Group and Citycenter for trusting the demanding and fascinating project of AI art production to me. Collaboration, especially with Lataamo’s Jukka Kalliomäki (Creative Strategist), was extremely rewarding. Thanks also to Mervi Brown (Account Director) and Oskari Liimatainen (Creative Director) for an excellently managed project. This project was very educational and inspiring for me, and it opened new possibilities for the use of AI in creative processes.
Exhibition Schedule
The exhibition “Helsinki Beneath” opens on June 3, 2024, and runs until September 1, 2024. The exhibition is open during Citycenter’s business hours:
Monday – Friday: 10:00 – 20:00
Saturday: 10:00 – 19:00
Sunday: 12:00 – 18:00
Admission to the exhibition is free.
More information about the exhibition and Ana Bauer can be found on Citycenter’s website.
Recent Comments