Stardust: Ascension and the Art I Never Made.
My practice-based research investigates the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) within a queer photographic and video practice to explore and amplify themes of fantasy, identity, and healing. Grounded in Deleuzian theory, which emphasizes the fluidity of identity and becoming, the study reimagines AI not as a tool of rigid categorization but as a collaborator in the creative process. By utilising AI-generated imagery, facial recognition algorithms, and neural networks, this practice interrogates normative structures of identity while constructing spaces for fantasy-driven self-expression and emotional healing. Through a series of experiments, the research examines how AI can be subverted to queer the gaze, generating alternative representations of self that escape binary notions of gender and sexuality. These digital mediations create transformative experiences for both the artist and the audience, challenging the boundaries between the real and the virtual. The findings demonstrate how AI, when engaged critically, can be a powerful medium for both aesthetic and personal healing, offering a new frontier for queer artistic practices. Ascension and the Art I Never Made weaves a visual storytelling using Starry AI prompts in daily iterations to activate the philosophical senses of realisation we are all forms of cosmic star dust transmitting through my character/persona protagonist Stardust. My praxis is steeped in triggers, deeply nostalgic fantasies and imaginary worlds to trace my personal mapping of existence.
