Doe

The Doe series portrays an algorithm’s representation of humans. The Jane and John Doe portraits are anonymous, amorphous machine hallucinations created by a generative machine learning model. I trained the model exclusively on artwork by women artists, a frustratingly small fraction of the art world. As a result, the algorithm serves to combat the dominant forces of patriarchy and the portraits feature more women.

The algorithm recognizes and exposes the multiplicity of being in its depiction of humanity. The portraits combine familiar and unfamiliar elements into something we recognize as human, despite the unconventional components. We are challenged to consider whether these images are any more or less real than the images that live in our minds.