Art

2024

affect lab

Ctrl.Alt.Img.

Many of the current images that are seen daily on social media and in the news are generated by algorithms and image generation apps such as Dall-E, Midjourney, or Stable Diffusion. However, these tools are still being trained on existing datasets that are filled with stereotypes and prejudices. This is a development that has a huge impact on visual culture and our collective consciousness. For underrepresented groups, AI may contribute to an increasingly widening digital and social divide in the future.

Ctrl.Alt.Img is an installation that responds to this development by playfully utilizing existing text-to-image tools to explore a more inclusive approach for the future.

The inspiration for this installation comes from photographer Çiğdem Yüksel, who did not see herself represented in the photos used by the Dutch media to depict Muslim women. These images often show a veiled woman from behind, taken from a distance, holding a shopping bag. Muslim women who are working, exercising, or attending school are rarely depicted.

This latest version of Ctrl.Alt.Img is presented in collaboration with Noorderlicht and will be on display after Into The Great Wide Open during the group exhibition Pixel Perceptions by Noorderlicht from October 26 to January 19.

About the artists
Ctrl.Alt.Img is designed and produced by affect lab, together with documentary studio Prospektor and creative technologists Babusi Nyoni and Mark Mooij. The project originated from research by photographer Çiğdem Yüksel. Graphic design by Sasha Fominskaya and installation design by Studio Stam.

affect lab is an award-winning creative studio and research practice led by interactive artist Klasien van de Zandschulp and researcher Dr. Natalie Dixon in collaboration with Juliette Brederode. affect lab creates and produces projects with immersive forms of performance and storytelling to bring about social change.