Emi Kusano Uses AI to Probe Human Fragility and Desire

Emi Kusano, a Japanese artist, engages with visual art, music, performance, and installation, viewing artificial intelligence as a creative partner rather than merely a tool. Starting her career as a teenage street photographer in Tokyo during the late 2000s, she captured the essence of youth culture and fashion tribes. She now refers to AI as "photography without a camera." Her exhibitions have taken place at venues such as M+ Museum in Hong Kong and the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, as well as prominent art fairs like Frieze and Paris Photo. In 2025, Kusano was recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. She also leads the band Satellite Young, which delves into retro-futurism. Notable projects include "Neural Fad," generating unique Tokyo street fashion, and "Enlightenment for Sale™," which critiques modern desires. By incorporating her own facial and bodily data into AI training, she challenges conventional idealized outputs. Influenced by "Ghost in the Shell," she views the self as a collection of "dividuals." Her exhibition "EGO in the Shell," curated by Yosuke Takahashi, reflects her goal of using AI to create memories that feel familiar yet never existed.