Kawita Vatanajyankur's AI-Powered Performance to Premiere at Asia Pacific Triennial
Kawita Vatanajyankur, a Thai performance artist, explores themes of industrial exploitation through her physically intense creations. Her upcoming piece, The Machine Ghost in the Human Shell (2024), integrates electronic muscle stimulators operated by OpenAI's GPT-4, a collaboration with Pat Pataranutaporn from MIT's Media Lab. This project draws inspiration from Masamune Shirow's manga, Ghost in the Shell (1989–97). Vatanajyankur's earlier works, such as Shuttle (2018) and Spinning Wheel (2018), depict her body as tools, emphasizing the garment industry where women represent nearly 60% of the workforce. Her research involved visits to factories and a protest in Bangalore. Currently, her work is showcased in The Spirits of Maritime Crossing at the 60th Venice Biennale until November 24, with The Machine Ghost set to debut at the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial on November 30.
Key facts
- Kawita Vatanajyankur's The Machine Ghost in the Human Shell (2024) uses OpenAI's GPT-4 to control electronic muscle stimulators on her body.
- She collaborates with Pat Pataranutaporn at MIT's Media Lab on the AI project.
- Her work Shuttle (2018) is part of the Performing Textiles series (2018–19), where she embodies a weaving shuttle.
- Women make up nearly 60% of global garment workers and up to 85% in Southeast Asia and India.
- Vatanajyankur visited factories and witnessed a labor protest in Bangalore during her research.
- She was born in Thailand, moved to Australia as a teenager, and graduated from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
- Her work is featured in The Spirits of Maritime Crossing at Palazzo Smith Mangilli Valmarana until November 24, 2024.
- The 11th Asia Pacific Triennial opens on November 30, 2024, at the Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane.
Entities
Artists
- Kawita Vatanajyankur
- Masamune Shirow
- Pat Pataranutaporn
Institutions
- MIT's Media Lab
- Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
- Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art
- Asia Pacific Triennial
- Venice Biennale
- Palazzo Smith Mangilli Valmarana
- OpenAI
Locations
- Thailand
- Australia
- Brisbane
- Queensland
- Venice
- Italy
- Bangalore
- India
- Southeast Asia