What does it mean to incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the artistic creative
process? It involves directing a mathematical system that is essentially “blind” to human
aesthetics and intention. The challenge for the artist is to combine their inner vision with
the abstract logic of an algorithm.
To achieve substantive results, deep curation of data is essential. An AI model trained on
arbitrary mass data often produces mediocrity. Translating an artistic sensibility,
matured over years, into the language of the algorithm demands the utmost precision.
Working with AI is therefore less a command–output system than a prolonged dialogue
with the unknown, marked by the oscillation between disappointment and the sudden
flash of insight triggered by an unforeseen image. The true artistic achievement, the
intellectual struggle for expression and the fine-tuning through prompts, begins after
the initial generation. The final formal decision always remains with the human artist.
In her installation Each Trailing a Dreamworld, Gretta Louw demonstrates, in a poetic and
critical manner, the possibilities of a symbiotic use of technology and traditional
aesthetics. The work creates an immersive experiential space in which the boundaries
between the material reality of a natural object and its artificially generated image are
blurred.
The central motif is the orchid, which carries a complex history shaped by colonial
hunting, obsessive collecting, and genetic manipulation. It is a symbol of beauty and
desire, but also of human hubris—the urge to control nature.
Louw uses AI to explore this multilayered nature in a multisensory manner. The “all-over”
treatment of the motif on fabric banners and wallpaper deconstructs the floral aesthetic
into a pattern. Shades of yellow and grey create a mysterious depth.
The sound installation forms the heart of this dialogue. Gretta Louw subjected the AI
system to a long process of text curation based on online articles about orchids.
Through precise prompts, she instructed the LLM to extract and refine sentences
according to strictly defined aesthetic criteria, aiming to achieve a poetic density that
transcends mere factual information.
The result is a highly lyrical flow of information about the world of the orchid. This
carefully distilled text, performed by Louw herself and read aloud by the AI, creates an
immersive auditory layer that draws the audience deep into the plant’s metaphorical and
material world, inviting contemplative immersion.
