Death Mother: As Above, So Below. 2024, Tor-Finn Malum Fitje, video, 2 channels, stereo, 4:04 min
This two-channel video draws its inspiration from Carl Jung’s ideas of the near-death-experience, and the title refers to his archetype Death Mother. To the left you see a AI generated character dressed as an air stewardess, speaking intensely to the viewers. She has been given the deep voice of the Jungian analyst Joseph Lee. On the right screen we see real drone videos of fault ruptures caused by earthquakes, and hear sounds from inside the crust of the earth. In the vague relations between these two dream spaces – one floating on top of the other – there is a bizarre death fantasy unfolding. The underlying topic of the film can be found in the conflict between the artificial and the analogue, the vulgar and the sublime.
The work was made using open source AI generators.
It won the artist BiT Elite-stipend at Stipendutstillingen 2024, Telemark Kunstsenter with the jury statement:
«Death Mother: As Above So Below» er et verk som vekker like mye tanker som ubehag. Stemmen i verket stemmer ikke overens med kroppen som snakker. Detaljer går igjen i bildene og skaper en ubehagelig og tankevekkende atmosfære. Lyden forsterker dette. Verket er raffinert og er et viktig innslag i samtidens opptatthet av kunstig intelligens innenfor kunstfeltet.
