Synthetic Visions for a Future Past (Jurong Dreaming)

Kapilan Naidu

Artwork Description:

Synthetic Visions for A Future Past (Jurong Dreaming)' is a real-time generative media art installation that expresses the collective memories and dreams of the community living, working and commuting through Jurong – a historic residential neighborhood within the city-state of Singapore. Utilizing a combination of crowd-sourced and archival imagery of the neighborhood, along with a collection of user-submitted stories and aspirations acquired through a six month long public consultation process with residents of the township, the work synthesizes AI-generated dreamscapes of a Jurong that is simultaneously alien and familiar to viewers. The installation allows audiences to browse, sort and contribute to an ever-growing library of memories, influencing the AI-generated visual hallucinations seen throughout the screens of the central structure of the artwork. These memories cover a broad spectrum across eight decades of history, delving into these residents’ relationships with the relentless march of progress—all of which are autonomously parsed, tagged and organized by the artificially intelligent algorithms that drive the artwork. The loss of nature to intensive modernization and the effects this has had on the inhabitants of Jurong inform the main thematic explorations of the artwork. ‘Synthetic Visions…’ takes the form of an artificial mangrove swamp constructed from steel pipes, calling specific attention to the rapid large-scale industrialization of Jurong that began in the early 60s and continues to this day. This process has seen the region transform from a thriving mangrove forest, into a significantly built-up environment housing factories and manufacturing facilities, military bases, residential developments and more.