‘Composition for Mnemosyne' consists of a two-channel video artwork accompanied by five wall works, made as part of The Lock-Up’s Artist in Residence program. Reflecting the artist's (Stanton Cornish-Ward and Alexandra Kirwood) own observations on shifting synthetic media as well as the ambient technological infrastructure of Newcastle, the work examines the complex and often uneasy relationship between human experience and increasingly pervasive A.I driven systems, often rendered invisible. Avoiding a didactic approach, the series of works invites viewers to consider their own entanglement with rapidly advancing technology.
The video work consists of two channels. The first video channel features The Hunter Singers, a Newcastle youth choir directed by Kim Sutherland (OAM) and conducted by Charissa Ferguson, performing an AI-assisted score by long-time collaborator of the artists, Mitchell Mackintosh. Using their voice and hands they emulate synthetic sounds into a choral performance, exploring the way new technology is not only reshaping the visual landscape but becoming an embodied and mediated presence in the human body.
The second channel juxtaposes the choir's performance with scenes of a group of teenagers navigating Newcastle’s shifting technological landscape. These spaces— decaying WWII gun encampments, abandoned barracks, and the stark presence of a fighter jet museum adjacent to Australia’s primary F-35 training base— reflect cycles of progress intertwined with military influence. The F-35s, equipped with advanced AI-driven systems—a key advantage since the 2010s—train every weekday, looping over Newcastle’s sky. With each step forward, the perception of the environment is reprogrammed, shaped by both the visible physical infrastructure and the invisible networks that redefine these spaces for each generation.
The wall works extend these themes by merging real and synthetic imagery. Three works incorporate UV printed imagery on steel, their surfaces either burnt by homemade explosives, or scratched to leave behind tags, both motifs in the film. Two additional lenticular works, composed entirely of synthetic imagery, depict a hypothetical, disembodied perspective that merges human vision with machine-driven overlays, offering an augmented view from both the ground and the sky
This project was supported by Creative Victoria, The Lock-Up’s Artist in Residence program. Additional residency support from Fremantle Arts Centre. DATA MINDS has been assisted by Creative Australia.
