This page provides basic information and updates on our new project in development, What Lies Beneath. This page is accessible only via a direct link and is intended for internal use.
What Lies Beneath (working title)
Our relationship with digital communication and AI, and their effect on our perception of truth
As AI technologies advance at an incredible pace, legislation and regulation lag dangerously behind, leaving us increasingly exposed and vulnerable. Through art, this project explores and reflects on the challenge of defining our relationship with technology and adapting to the ever-evolving conditions it creates in our interactions with it.
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The performance incorporates both the use of AI tools and a commentary on our relationship with these technologies and of how they effect our perception of reality and truth. Throughout our research period we are employing and manipulating AI tools, exploring them as a medium for artistic expression. On stage we use the dialogue and tension between a live performer and video projections to give expression to a human storyline, that reflects on how these technologies shape our mindset and, just as importantly, how our mindset, in turn, influences them. The artistic language is a combination of theatrical and physical expression, combined with film and video that are created in part using manipulated AI tools.
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Concept, choreography and dance: Yael Gaathon
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Video artist and co-creator: Christoffer Brekne
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Composer and co-creator: Kristian Hverring​
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- Research collaboration (Aarhus University):
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Mads Rosendahl Thomsen, Professor, Ph.d. Director of Centre for Language Generation and AI, School of Communication and Culture - Comparative Literature
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Søren Pold, Lektor (Assoc. Prof.), Ph.d. , Information Studies & Digital Design, School of Communication and Culture
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- We are currently in the process of building up the support for the project and establishing collaborations. To date, the project has been funded and supported by:
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The City of Aarhus
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Koda Kultur
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Åbne Scene - Godsbanen
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Human-AI Collaboration: Imaginaries, Interventions,
Interfaces (HAIC-III) Aarhus University
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Don Gnu - Physical Theater and Dance
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Bora Bora - Dance and Visual Theater
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Performing Arts Platform
Research residency #1 - April 23th - May 2nd 2024
Bora Bora - Dance and Visual Theater, Aarhus Denmark
Yael Gaathon (choreographer and performer) and Christoffer Brekne (video artist) came together to start experimenting with AI tools and dialogues between video projections and live performer.
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Please note!: All costumes and set designs are preliminary mock-ups and do not reflect the final appearance of the production.
Experiment #1:
AI and Image Manipulation - working with transformations.
Our goal was to find a way to give an artistic expression to the way algorithms operate on social media. These algorithms are designed to capture our attention and keep us engaged. They learn what triggers us and track how long we look at each post, constantly transforming to find out what keeps us engaged as long as possible.
To express this “mindset,” we focused on working with transformations. We filmed a performer transitioning between extreme emotional states and fed this footage into an AI tool, directing it to transform the image.
We then manipulated the AI tool’s programming, slowing down the transformation to make its “thinking” process visible. The result was a monstrous, non-human image—a demon-like figure struggling to take on a shape resembling life.
Experiment #2:
Exploring possibilities for dramatic storytelling through a dialogue between a live performer and pre-filmed projections.
In this simple setup, the same performer plays both characters—one live onstage, the other appearing in a video. We aimed to test how this combination affects audience perception of the story, as well as experiment with technical aspects of creating a convincing image.
We found that this setup adds new layers to the narrative; a straightforward scene, like two people sharing breakfast, expands in meaning, inviting us as an audience to see more within it—memories, loss, loneliness, isolation, and a yearning for self-connection.
