AI Global Portrait
On behalf of International law firm Freshfields, Art Acumen commissioned award-winning British artist Anna Ridler to create an AI artwork to articulate their diversity, global reach and digital expertise. The resulting work was a stunning GAN-generated video.
To create this unique and personalised artwork for Freshfields, we invited colleagues from their global offices to submit landscape photographs. We encouraged them to share pictures of the surrounding areas where they lived, such as their city, countryside, gardens, streets, or any place they had a special connection to. Through this global collaboration, we were able to develop a bespoke dataset that captured the diverse and personal experiences of the Freshfields community. This approach allowed us to create an artwork that truly resonated with the firm’s culture and values.
Harnessing the power of AI to celebrate people and potential
The resulting GAN generated video showcased “new” and “potential” landscapes based on the Freshfields’ dataset. The artwork was prominently displayed on a dedicated screen in the reception area and was also set to be the default screen on all client-facing meeting room computers and staff breakout areas. Through this installation, we showcased the incredible potential of the generative AI process and provided Freshfields with a bespoke meaningful artwork to stimulate conversation for staff and clients.
‘‘Using AI to create an artwork is a way of exploring the human connection, as AI only exists with our input. It gives us a way of reflecting back on ourselves and the world that we have created.’’
Anna is a London-based artist and researcher with degrees from the Royal College of Art, Oxford University, and University of Arts London. Her work has been exhibited at institutions including the Centre Pompidou, the Barbican, and Tate Modern. She has received numerous commissions and awards for her work, including the Dare Art Prize and an honorary mention in the Ars Electronica Golden Nica award. Ridler’s focus is on creating new narratives through self-generated data sets, across various mediums.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
Victoria and Albert Museum, the Barbican Centre, Centre Pompidou, HeK Basel, the ZKM Karlsruhe, Ars Electronica, Sheffield Documentary Festival and the Leverhulme Centre for Future Intelligence.
PUBLISHED:
2015 - 2017 MA, Information Experience Design, Royal College of Art, London. 2004 - 2007 BA, English Literature and Language, Oxford University, Oxford, along with fellowships at the Creative Computing Institute at University of the Arts London (UAL)
AWARDS:
2020 Delfina Foundation Art, Science and Technology Fellowship, Ars Electronica/Edinburgh University AI Fellowship, 2019 Google AMI Fellowship, Beazley Designs of the Year awards nominee, Honorary Mention in Ars Electronica prix category ‘AI and Life Arts’, UAL Creative Computing Institute Fellowship. 2018 EMAP Fellow, DARE Prize for Radical Interdisciplinary Research, University of Leeds, Adobe Award for Best Creative use of Technology at European Conference for Computer Vision
Anna Ridler lives and works in London.
ANNA RIDLER: