Osamu Yokonami Creates First Artist Commission for AI Startup Sesame

Japanese photographer Osamu Yokonami, 59, has been commissioned by AI startup Sesame for its first-ever artist collaboration. The company, which is launching a personal AI voice assistant app this fall and premium glasses in 2027, approached Yokonami after seeing his long-running "Assembly" series, in which schoolchildren are arranged in geometric formations across the Japanese countryside. The commission, guided by the prompt "Open what's possible," was shot in Japan over a single day, coinciding with where Sesame's soon-to-launch frames are crafted. The resulting images will appear across Sesame's platforms this week. During the shoot, the Sesame team suggested using a slower shutter speed to introduce motion blur, an experiment Yokonami said created a compelling effect and pushed him to work differently. He described the day as starting under clouds before the sun emerged, producing unexpected images, and noted a growing sense of unity among models and crew. Yokonami views AI as a tool to support creativity, insisting the original idea must come from the creator. He continues to explore the tension between collective and individual, and between human figures and natural landscapes, themes central to his practice. He also expressed hope that film and analog printing will endure.