On September 14, a new solo exhibition by Danny Devos opens at the AAIMACHINE gallery. This exhibition focuses exclusively on recent work by DDV that plays with the boundaries of art, technology, and artistic authorship.

DDV, legendary for his radical performances, provocative work, and exploration of threat and danger, has always distinguished himself through an unconventional approach that does not focus on ‘beauty’ in the traditional sense.

The exhibition concentrates on recent work in which AI technology is used to generate images based on titles from a catalog of the English Romantic painter J. M. W. Turner (TURNER 1775-1881, Tate Gallery, 1974). The titles of works, none of which are illustrated in the book, serve as prompts for the AI-generated images. DDV then converts these images into models, 3D prints, Polaroids, etc. using various computer-controlled processes.

Themes such as the power of nature, storms, and light are reinterpreted through AI within a contemporary digital context. This creates an artificial translation of Turner's work, without the original works being shown. This approach actively stimulates dialogue between old painting and modern technology, and questions authorship.

William Turner once had himself tied to the mast of a ship so that he could experience a storm for himself. This daring act reflected his quest for a deeper understanding and perception of the natural forces that were his favourite subjects for paintings—a quest that parallels DDV's early performances. Both artists share the urge to place themselves in extreme circumstances in order to find a deeper understanding and a new artistic expression.

This exhibition is not only a celebration of Turner's 250th birthday, but also of DDV's long-standing connection with non-profit and underground art spaces. AAIMACHINE serves as a visible beacon in an underground artistic world that is not bound by commercial interests, but offers space for experimentation and credible projects without a hidden agenda.

The exhibited works are inspired by the catalogue of the exhibition ‘TURNER 1775-1851’ of J. M. W. Turner at the Tate Gallery, London from 16 November 1974 until 2 March 1975.

The catalogue was bought in a second-hand bookshop in Brussels for 4,- €.

The 650 titles from the catalogue are fed into an AI Image Generator Machine Learning Model with prompts for abstract, colourfield, brutalist, geometric paintings in hi-res images. Then all the works are published on performan.org, Instagram, X, Facebook, Reddit and Bluesky.

The generated images are finally used to create derivative works: eight 3D models, ten HQ UV-prints, ten ‘made-in-China’ paintings, four CNC carvings, forty-six Polaroids, one View-Master, and twelve Multi-colour 3D prints.