Tan Liyuan works with Whispart Studio in Kunming, China. The studio develops machine-learned images through training, selection, naming and physical presentation. This article reflects on that practice from the artist’s perspective.
Website: https://whispart.com
Tan Liyuan reflects on images developed at Whispart Studio that invite recognition while resisting a settled description. Through close readings, enlarged details, a selection comparison and views of physical works, the article examines the encounter between generated forms and the familiar names viewers bring to them. Dreams and the inverted spectrum thought experiment offer ways of considering familiarity and the limits of shared descriptions. Grounded in the artist’s practice, the essay asks how a scene can convey an unsettling yet coherent mood while leaving its objects and events open to interpretation.