Dr. Chanee Choi. Juried Artist
Constellations
WebXR on the Styly platform
Artist Statement
Remembrance: Coral is a biofeedback gamified performance art project created by the artist to confront the fear of inheriting early-onset Alzheimer’s, from which her mother now suffers. The project utilizes machine learning to create interactive animations, similar to video games, that respond to EEG brain sensor interactions. It combines a surrealistic artistic sensibility with technical expertise and represents a culmination of the artist’s creative concepts.
Remembrance: Coral traces the story of a woman slowly dying of dementia through an aesthetically vibrant world. It was created through the use of motion capture and machine-learning animation. Real hospital records and patient information were transformed into visuals and with the addition of a database of existing poems, novels, and other writings about memory loss, synthesized into poetry by the OpenAI program GPT-2. This forms the basis of the audio track.
EEG input is used in order to provoke questions about oblivion and the extinction of memories. The brainwaves are divided into two categories: concentration and no concentration. While concentration is maintained, the narrative of the video game is forwarded, and progress continues sequentially. However, in the case of no concentration, the action of the video game is stuck, and visual elements disperse like dust. The audio and visual text are computer-generated poems about memory loss created by the AI, GPT-2. The poem is composed of 4 parts that progress continuously while concentration is maintained. When concentration is lost the letters are erased one by one.
Styly link: Remembrance: Coral
About the artists
Dr. Chanee Choi (Chanhee Choi) is a transdisciplinary artist and educator. She has developed a ritualistic craft-based art practice that transcends the conservative and isolationist roots of traditional East Asian craftwork by focusing on a celebration of feminist theory and modern technology. Within this hybrid genre, she produces both embodied and virtual immersive experiences exploring the impact of immigration on issues of identity and the synesthetic processes of corporeal-cognitive space.
Originally from South Korea, Chanee now lives, works, and studies in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She holds positions as an assistant professor at the University of New Mexico in The Department of Film & Digital Arts. Alongside her academic role, Chanee has earned degrees including a BFA in Craft Design from Dongduk Women’s University in 2013, an MFA in Fiber and Material Studies from the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016, and a Ph.D. in Art and Technology from DXARTS at the University of Washington in 2022.
Her artistic endeavors have been featured in publications including UW News, UW College of Arts & Sciences, GeekWire, International Examiner, Seattle Times, KUOW NPR, KING-TV, ISEA, SIGGRAPH Asia, and WIRED magazine.
Credits: Dr. Chanee Choi
URL: https://chaneec.com/