Unstable Portraiture

<p dir="ltr"><b>Unstable Portraiture</b> by Lim Kok Yoong is an artwork that extends the ideas explored in his first solo exhibition, <i>When You Are Not Your Body</i> (WYANYB), presented at Valentine Willie in 2008. WYANYB delved into the metaphysical phenomenon of digital existence and self-consciousness, emphasizing the shift from embodied physicality to a disembodied digital lifestyle. In <i>Unstable Portraiture</i>, Lim revisits these ideas, drawing from nearly 2,000 photographs of visitors collected during the WYANYB exhibition. These images serve as training data for a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) to create a simulated version of the artist himself. By both discriminating and assimilating the visual elements of these strangers, the artwork generates a constantly evolving animated self-portrait. This digital morphology highlights the complex, interconnected nature of self-conception in the cyber realm, celebrating the fluidity and relationality of identity shaped through social interaction. Presented as an installation, <i>Unstable Portraiture</i> was showcased in the multidisciplinary group exhibition <b>ber{SEMANGAT}</b> at Galeri Puteh in Kuala Lumpur in October 2022.</p>