Author Information
Timi O'Neill, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, United KingdomJianlan Feng, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, United Kingdom
Abstract
‘There’s no escape from this life”, were the last words of an interview held in Lanzhou China. The participant was one of 20 female participants in an art workshop exploring female identity and how AI photography can help visualise their experiences. In this paper, the author discusses the ways AI-generated photography, when connected to literature, helps to reimagine societal liberation. The title refers to Eveline, a fictitious character appearing in James Joyce’s The Dubliners (1914). Focusing on Eveline’s life of pain and suffering, paralyzed by duty, and lacking trust — the talk reinterprets her inertia as a metaphor for fixed societal roles. AI becomes a tool to visualize this liberation, merging Joyce’s modernist angst with Situationist tactics to propose new narratives for marginalized voices. The AI photos have been constructed referencing words spoken in interviews conducted in Lanzhou, China, across 6 months in 2024. Words taken from interviews were turned into prompts; these prompts then created the images of the exhibition. The images revealed women floating through Parisian landscapes, symbolizing their hopes to transcend rigid oppressive norms. The surreal imagery contrasts their weightless freedom against the rigid architectures of Paris, a city historically tied to revolution and romance, to critique gendered and cultural constraints. The second concept discussed, seeks a connection with the Situationist derive (a “drift” through urban spaces to disrupt routine and reclaim agency). By digitally mapping Eveline’s psychological stasis onto the floating figures, the lecture argues for collective “drifting” as resistance—breaking from predetermined paths imposed by society.
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