An exhibition exploring artificial intelligence and the future of images in Africa has been opened in Johannesburg.
It is the debut exhibition of the newly launched Roger Ballen Centre of Photography in Forest Town, which is steadily turning into one of the city’s art hubs.
Founded by internationally acclaimed photographer Roger Ballen, it is one of the few institutions on the continent that is dedicated entirely to photography.
Kicking off with PSYCHOPOMP!, a provocative and edgy exhibition curated by Berlin-based photo media artist Boris Eldagsen, Ballen told TechCentral that while there are fierce opinions about what AI means for art – and especially photography, in this instance – it was the obvious choice for debut exhibition.
“I think it is important to start with AI because that is where the trend is right now, where things are moving. Look where things were two years ago and where they are right now with AI. You can see how powerful that force has been. So, there’s no point avoiding it and not knowing anything about it,” he said.
“Art is in eye of the beholder. So, somebody taking a picture of the sunset in the Kruger Park may think it’s the best art in the world, better than Picasso. Art is very complicated. So, I think what’s most important is to make your own decision. What strikes you, what stays in your mind, what will give you memories, what will you learn from it?”
‘Impossible to stop this’
“You may want to call it art or remember it as a picture, whether it’s AI, whether it’s Picasso, whether it’s me or whether it’s someone else. It’s just a picture on the wall. It’s a two-dimensional image on the wall that you should be relating to, not getting into issues whether it’s this or that. It’s about what affects you.”
Eldagsen, who took six months to choose the 20-plus artists whose works were all created by AI for the exhibition, said AI is an expanding frontier.
“The artists in PSYCHOPOMP! don’t ask AI for answers. They use it to interrogate their fears, their shame, their psychic leftovers. What you see is what the machine sees in them – and, maybe, in you, too.”
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Speaking at the opening of the centre and launch of the exhibition on Tuesday night, Eldagsen told TechCentral it is much too early to say what impact of AI will have on humans.
“We don’t know how it is going to change us. AI is an enabling technology, like electricity. I don’t do predictions. The progress of the technology is constantly evolving; we are moving at full speed. It’s impossible to stop this.”
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He said humans have always desired to be God-like. While this is evident in how technology and AI are transforming, at the same time people are scared because it reflects who we are. He described the show as a liberation from natural restrictions.
The contemporary artists, who are mostly in their early 40s, are from all over the world, including South Africa. In true 21st-century fashion, Eldagsen encountered their work on social media before he knew the contributors themselves.
The exhibition, which offers surreal, jarring and often disturbing imagery, challenges the perceptions of both photography and identity.
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It is on for six weeks at the new the photography centre, which is the latest initiative of the Inside Out Foundation, a non-profit organisation established to support cultural and educational projects in South Africa. — © 2025 NewsCentral Media
- Top image: “Mirror Me Me Me”, by Boris Eldagsen (Germany)
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