Am I Human? 2023
Video & Sound by Gladys Lou
"Gladys Lou hurls home-made images of herself against a swift torrent of loading files, digital code and the general barrage of representational media imagery saturating daily life online. The features of faces and bodies merge and split apart, ceaselessly. Human identity is caught and fixed in normative binary categories, but the ‘glitch’ strategies of artists can struggle against the system, creating new notions of rhizomatic selfhood."
– Adrian Martin
Selected Screenings:
International Film Festival Rotterdam, 2024
Vtape x Vidéographe Exchange, Montreal & Toronto, 2024
ONED art/experimental film festival, Toulouse, France & Beijing, China, 2024
ALC videoart festival, Museum of Contemporary Art of Alicante, Alicante, Spain, 2023
First Prize, Video Fever, Trinity Square Video x Vtape x Image Festival, Toronto, 2023
Vector Festival, InterAccess (a body as a fault in the system, in a system of faults, Toronto, 2022
Am I Human? is a post-human exploration of data, artificial intelligence, and surveillance using video and sound. The glitch on screen disrupts communication and represents my questioning about the difficulty in being human in normative cultural standards. I was inspired by artworks representing beings beyond the human from different art historical periods (ancient Egypt, Greek, and the Renaissance). Skeptical about the accuracy of machine learning algorithms, I have analyzed images of myself from social media using facial recognition techniques, which generated a wide range of results regarding my age, ethnicity, and emotion.
The induced speed of the video correlates with media bombardment, data infiltration, and other overwhelming influence of technology in today’s world. The flashing texts and images on screen create a rhythm and kinetic power, which disorientates the viewers. By portraying the way visual information loses familiarity and becomes incomprehensive when constructed by technology, I aim to challenge the precarious relationship we have with the digital world.
"Gladys Lou hurls home-made images of herself against a swift torrent of loading files, digital code and the general barrage of representational media imagery saturating daily life online. The features of faces and bodies merge and split apart, ceaselessly. Human identity is caught and fixed in normative binary categories, but the ‘glitch’ strategies of artists can struggle against the system, creating new notions of rhizomatic selfhood."
– Adrian Martin
Selected Screenings:
International Film Festival Rotterdam, 2024
Vtape x Vidéographe Exchange, Montreal & Toronto, 2024
ONED art/experimental film festival, Toulouse, France & Beijing, China, 2024
ALC videoart festival, Museum of Contemporary Art of Alicante, Alicante, Spain, 2023
First Prize, Video Fever, Trinity Square Video x Vtape x Image Festival, Toronto, 2023
Vector Festival, InterAccess (a body as a fault in the system, in a system of faults, Toronto, 2022
Am I Human? is a post-human exploration of data, artificial intelligence, and surveillance using video and sound. The glitch on screen disrupts communication and represents my questioning about the difficulty in being human in normative cultural standards. I was inspired by artworks representing beings beyond the human from different art historical periods (ancient Egypt, Greek, and the Renaissance). Skeptical about the accuracy of machine learning algorithms, I have analyzed images of myself from social media using facial recognition techniques, which generated a wide range of results regarding my age, ethnicity, and emotion.
The induced speed of the video correlates with media bombardment, data infiltration, and other overwhelming influence of technology in today’s world. The flashing texts and images on screen create a rhythm and kinetic power, which disorientates the viewers. By portraying the way visual information loses familiarity and becomes incomprehensive when constructed by technology, I aim to challenge the precarious relationship we have with the digital world.
