Mishka Henner's AI-Generated Biblical Polaroids Question Photography's Truth in Modena Show

Belgian photographer Mishka Henner presents his first Italian solo exhibition, 'Seeing Is Believing. Vedere per credere,' at Palazzo Santa Margherita in Modena, curated by Chiara Dall’Olio and organized by Fondazione Ago, running until May 3, 2026. The show features 25 new works exploring photography's evolving role in the AI era, challenging notions of reality, authenticity, and credibility. It is structured into four sections: 'The Word' displays 1,418 definitions of photography sourced from Italian search engines in a video and book; 'The Relic' showcases AI-generated Polaroid-style images of biblical scenes, imagining instant photographs from over two millennia ago; 'The Icon' presents AI-created portraits of saints based on medieval iconography, rendered with realistic, human-like features; and 'The Light (New Light)' is an installation cycling through over 16 million digital color shades, paying tribute to light as photography's fundamental element. Henner's project interrogates whether photography remains a reliable witness to reality, especially as images can now be generated from text prompts rather than camera lenses. At the vernissage, Henner cautioned against fearing AI, comparing it to fire—potentially harmful but essential for warmth and work. The exhibition reflects on photography's shift from a symbol of modernity, dating back to Joseph Nicéphore Niépce's first photograph in 1826 in Le Gras, to a potentially antiquated medium in the digital age.