I M U is an interactive film installation in which maker Juul van der Laan manipulates the viewer’s image through live deepfake. “It is a personal confrontation with the technology and a meditative intervention on what the self and your self-image really are,” she says.
“The project naturally grew out of previous work and out of circumstance. It was an initial response to the lockdown situations during Covid, which caused many people…to have lots of time and space to reflect on themselves, [asking] ‘who am I?’ and ‘what am I doing?’” van der Laan adds. “Amidst all this focus on the self, I started wondering whether we’re actually approaching these questions in a healthy way. And because, for my last works, I have been focussing a lot on African philosophy, I continued looking in that direction to find answers.”
The AI features South African philosopher Mogobe Ramose, whom van der Laan quotes to BDE: “We need to dare look in the mirror, even when we are ugly.”
“There’s this obsession with our selves, and our images,” continues van der Laan. “Thumbnails galore, let’s not even start about the urge for selfies. We’re surrounded by all these glossy screens, that, even switched off, function as a pocket mirror. Me – me – me. We’re prompted to represent ourselves constantly in the digital sphere, to identify ourselves, to be categorised, to finally end up as data. To be processed.”
“In the West it is now commonly accepted that we are solely responsible for our own success and happiness – but this puts enormous pressure on us as individuals and that, for one, does definitely not contribute to happiness,” she adds. “This installation, the I M U machine, offers you an ‘active mirror’ which aims to pull you away from your self-image. It investigates the relation between your literal image and your self image.”
How does van der Laan approach the interactive work from both creative and business perspectives?
“Creatively this is one big experiment, both technically and cinematographically. The viewer of the film is also one of the main characters in it. I’m playing with deepfake technology, a physical mirror and the more ‘regular’ film montage all at once. Basically the film is only finished when you, the viewer, are watching. The work is a form of philosophy in and of itself,” she responds.
“From a business perspective it offers a personalised cinematic experience, which makes it attractive for us, ‘the self obsessed’. Rather than approaching it as a traditional film production, I am approaching it as the production of a work of art. We have been developing it iteratively, upgrading versions as we go. The first prototypes were proofs of concept. Now we are moving towards a refined ‘realisation’ version (v3.0). Each version has been already its own little presentable work. This dynamic enables us to upscale incrementally, make the audience a part of the production process, and offers us the possibility to exhibit from a very early stage. So it is a good way to generate incremental investments too. Currently our first stand-alone prototype v2.1 will do a continuous test audience run of 6 weeks at the University library in Wageningen (NL) starting the 21 May. Very exciting.”
Likewise, the project offers invaluable insight, whether on the part of audiences or investors, into a cutting edge technology that is dominating both headlines and the fearful thoughts of many folk. “I take the position that nothing brings home the challenges and dangers of deepfake technology like a personal confrontation with it. And that is exactly what I M U does,” says van der Laan.
“Whether you are someone who’d like to critically reflect on yourself in relation with technology, or you’re just up for experiencing something quite funky, I’d say: get in! Spend some time with the I M U machine, and let’s see how you feel afterwards. And let’s find out how all these technological developments also influence how you see yourself and others.”
“I invite investors interested in innovation, tech, philosophy, film, who want to foster societal wellbeing to join me on this multidisciplinary venture. Not only would the work itself align with shared goals of impact, as a philosophical film essay it aims to function as a catalyst setting the stage for further collective discussions, lectures…”
In terms of delivery, van der Laan is eyeing up late 2024 or early 2025. “In supplement to a festival run, I envisage the installation in other museum/exhibition settings, and as we are doing now with the prototype, also in library settings,” she says. At Barcelona she is looking to grab investment, presentation and production partners. “They can certainly be a mix of multiples in one,” she notes.
In general, van der Laan takes an altogether holistic approach to the business of making and producing. “A big strength [of mine] is the directness of creative flexibility on both fronts, which is vital to make an experimental project like this one work. This means that for me the productional constraints are automatically as much a part of the process as the artistic and technical constraints, each represented within every decision I make.”
“It is helpful to be able to do this all from one mind, as for the first steps in experimentation you need to be able to make your money go a long way. Also, with a strong artistic vision that is hard to pitch [as this is a new and untested concept and therefore a hypothesis to be tested] it is very good to be able to produce those first steps yourself. To then, after that, collaborate with experienced and knowledgable co-producers is incredibly fertile ground for upscaling and taking it places,” she ends.
I M U will be presented May 8 at DocsBarcelona Industry.
