Federico Ghiso uses AI to age and de-age toys in Milan exhibition

Federico Ghiso's project 'Toystellers – Forever Young' at Milan's Museo del Fumetto (WOW) from June 7 to September 8, 2024, uses artificial intelligence to age or rejuvenate the faces of classic toys like Barbie and Big Jim. The exhibition is the culmination of 'Toystellers', a book about collections and collectors. Ghiso, an advertising executive, applies AI to alter the faces of action figures and dolls, creating a contemporary twist on Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'. Instead of depicting himself, he transforms the toys he played with as a child, making Barbie appear elderly and Big Jim youthful, thereby challenging chronological memory. The project incorporates autobiographical elements, including an action figure of Ghiso himself, creating a mise en abyme. The portraits are printed on rubber to echo the toys' materiality. Ghiso's work references Pop Art, Marcel Duchamp's valise, Joseph Cornell's shadow boxes, and the toys of the 1960s and 1970s, primarily from Mattel and Mego. The exhibition elevates toys to art objects, exploring perception and memory through AI.