My work centers on the Uncanny Valley effect, starting in Unit 1 with verification of this principle and its psychological implications through questionnaires. This initial phase established the Uncanny Valley as a direct method for leveraging psychological factors to create visual art, deepening my understanding of the connection between human psychology and visual perception.
In Unit 2, I applied the Uncanny Valley principle to explore identity recognition issues between AI and humans. I created a preliminary work exhibited at Milkbank, which involved collecting audience faces (with their anonymity preserved). Recognizing the need for a larger dataset, I supplemented these with additional publicly available faces. Using these collected faces, I generated 200 AI faces to establish a new Uncanny Valley database.
Building on my Unit 1 research, I utilized NFT image generation techniques to deconstruct and recombine AI facial features, producing 5,000 unique Uncanny Valley face photos. These images were intentionally designed to resemble ID card photos, each labeled with random letters and numbers to simulate names.
The exhibition in Copeland Gallery involves 200 fake ID cards branded as UAL's UVL (Uncanny Valley London), distributed among students and employees. This installation aims to critique and satirize the blurring of human self-identity in the AI era and the pervasive infiltration of AI into the real world. Through this work, I highlight the complexities and ambiguities of identity in our increasingly AI-dominated society.
In Unit 3, Summer Show -----CONTROL: Uncanny Valley Show is the third stage of the UVL series of works., I work with JOJO from CCI to restore the role of an interviewer in the UVL world in the real exhibition. It will interact with the audience as a humanoid interactive art installation, further improving my UVL worldview concept. I use the concept of a toy house to express my views on AI, Facing Dangerous Questions from AI Interviewers, the audience can interact with it and make their own choices.
ARTIST STATEMENT
ARTIST STATEMENT & ARTIST BIO
Sanji Yang (Shangjie Yang)
Sanji Yang (Shangjie Yang), a digital visual artist, excels in narrative-driven visual image creation. His works often employ cold digital techniques to express emotions and moods with warmth. Renowned for a style that blends surrealism with Chinese magical realism.
Notable pieces include "Surreal Fantasy 365," "After The Earth 100," and "Bloodred Man." Currently active across various platforms as a digital visual artist, Sanji Yang continues to daily release digital visual artworks in a consistent and prolific manner. Constantly seeking to integrate digital visuals into realms such as fashion, photography, music, business, NFT art.