Auriea,

Thank you for blending the real and the virtual so that we can see ourselves in the past as well as in the future. To me, your work resembles the artifacts of a lost world – and I’d be none the wiser if you told me they’d been dug up from the ruins of an ancient diasporic kingdom.

Thank you for the winged creatures that remind me that I’m free and the warlike depictions that remind me of what i’ve overcome. Your choice to light the room in yellow helped me to more deeply appreciate the natural color of daylight.

Thank you for taking the time to create wallpapers and projections as a backdrop for your full-lipped warriors and deities to create a truly immersive experience.

To anyone who worries that artificial intelligence will make art and artists obsolete, I offer your name as an answer. The unanswered question that comes to mind for me: “How did you make so real a world that is both fantastical and nostalgic?”

Best,

A Black Star ★

Auriea Harvey’s exhibition, “The Unanswered Question” is on view at bitforms gallery and open to the public until May 25. All works are available for purchase using digital currency through Verse. Auriea’s work is also on view at the Museum of the Moving Image (I’m headed there next).