Noriko Okaku: #spread

An Interactive Media Art Experience Using Cutting-Edge Generative AI

Towada Art Center’s satellite venue space is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Noriko Okaku from July 6, until September 8, 2024.

Okaku is an artist based in London and Kyoto. She is interested in transcendent forces and the principles that constitute the world. The artist weaves together stories and ideas from folklore,
myths, legends, and the occult with theoretical frameworks such as philosophy, religious studies, quantum mechanics, and information thermodynamics, and creates works by employing modern technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI).

This exhibition presents an installation featuring human cutouts, microphones, and two monitors connected to an image-generating AI. Visitors are invited to enter their names into the AI program by speaking into a microphone. This alters the virtual space on the monitors, the results of which visitors are encouraged to share on Instagram.

This work is inspired by a quote from novelist William Burroughs: “Language is a virus from outer space.” Just as a virus infiltrates and reproduces its own genetic material inside a host’s cells, the unique names of visitors alter the space that spans across the monitors. This idea is also juxtaposed with how language exerts influence beyond human control.

Okaku presents her unique interdisciplinary approach by focusing on the nature of viruses, drawing parallels with language and digital information technology.