Auto-Encoded Buddha

2016, mixed media (monitor, computer running customised A.I. software, wooden Buddha)

Hommage to Nam June Paik’s TV Buddha. Collaboration with Roland Arnoldt.
A Buddha statue watches the computer attempting to draw its own image. An artificial intelligence model1 was trained on 5000 images of Buddha, yet the computer struggles to depict the Buddha’s essence.


1) Unsupervised Representation Learning with Deep Convolutional Generative Adversarial Networks (2015)
Jake Elwes digital artist Auto-Encoded Buddha (2016)
Early image generator model failing to create image of Buddha Jake Elwes digital artist Nam June Paik, TV Buddha (1974) at Tate Modern. Photograph: Guy Bell/Rex/Shutterstock