My latest artistic research project is rooted in a broader inquiry into image manipulation and how it influences our perception of time. By combining black-and-white photography with the generative capabilities of artificial intelligence, I wanted to explore the potentials of this innovative technology to confront a fascinating yet complex theme: how can AI allow us to recreate images evoking a specific past, a defined historical era, or even generate entirely invented scenarios that seem authentic but are, in reality, illusions?
The primary goal of this series is not merely to faithfully reproduce a particular period or photographic style from the past, but to challenge the capabilities of technology by questioning its ability to deceive perception and manipulate visual memory. Thanks to AI, it is possible to create environments, clothing styles, scenographies, and technical details that appear truly real, but which are entirely fabricated. For instance, images can be generated that imitate the flaws of old film scratches, noise, overexposure, and blurring creating a sense of nostalgia and authenticity that, however, is completely artificial.
This experimentation is driven not only by a desire to test AI’s technical potential but also by an ambition to develop critical artistic sensitivity. The most important part of this research is my ability to decide which aesthetic approach to adopt for each image, nurturing a delicate balance between technological manipulation and authentic representation, between fiction and reality. Every aesthetic choice, every filter or intervention, is carefully considered through a deep reflection on the emotional and visual function of the work. It is an ongoing exercise of discernment between the desire to evoke nostalgia and the need to preserve a truthful perception of reality a delicate equilibrium where art and technology meet to reveal both their endless possibilities and limitations.
The images produced in this series, in my view, are satisfying both from an aesthetic and conceptual standpoint. They are the result of a thoughtful reflection on the relationship between past and future, real and fictitious, authentic and invented. These works serve as tools for visual investigation and collective memory, questioning the capacity of images to preserve historical identity or to reinvent it fluidly and ambivalently.
In conclusion, this project is both a hard research and artistic experimentation designed to challenge not only AI’s technical abilities but also the perception and sensitivity of the viewer. It raises a fundamental question: to what extent can we trust images and their temporality, and how might technology alter our way of reliving and interpreting history, memory, and emotion?
I hope this series serves as a first step toward a deeper understanding of the possibilities and challenges that digital technology places before us, pushing art to become even more conscious and critical in its relation to time and perception.
Marcin Grabowski
Polska, 1995
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