In the ever-evolving landscape of contemporary art, few artists manage to create work that is both visually striking and deeply thought-provoking. Japanese artist mo•ᴗ•om is one such creator, crafting surreal collages that seamlessly blend organic elements with robotic features and human eyes peering through natural settings. The work itself is a delicate balance of precision and chaos, where technology and nature coexist in dreamlike harmony.
Your background
Where are you originally from? Where did you grow up?
I live in Japan. I studied music, graphic design, and art in Japan. I listen to a lot of music, watch and read books, and spend every day daydreaming.
What is your background? How did you get into collage art?
I listen to many different genres of music and have worked in bands and live music venues in the past. Influenced by music-related artwork, posters and flyers for live shows, I have also had experience in music-related graphic design work.
I am interested in collage and abstract art, and along with my graphic design work, I also create analogue and digital collage artwork.
Your artwork
Your work is a striking mix of musical elements, robotic features, and surreal eyes. What inspired this fusion of nature, art, and technology?
When I create art, I listen to music. I am interested in visualizing sound, and visuals are often inspired by sound. However, I decided to express my work with generative AI a little differently from analogue/digital collage.
We live with the evolution of technology. I like the world I see on the Internet, but I also like to take a walk every day and get in touch with nature and see fluffy animals. Concepts and ideas often come to me when I am taking a walk, so my daily life inspires me.
The presence of the eye in your work is powerful, almost like a window between digital and organic worlds. What does it symbolise for you?
I want to express emotions and new life by using eyeballs. I work anonymously. I also use the presence of eyeballs and hidden faces as an expression of anonymity.
In the digital space, people hide their real names and express themselves with icons and avatars. I have five names, including my real name, and I do different things with each one.
Your use of colour and composition is exceptionally bold and attention-grabbing. How do you approach colour in your creative process?
Colour is partly a sensory approach, but there are also many musical elements. There are various types of music, such as quiet music, intense music, emotional music, experimental music, etc. In some cases, I express myself by combining images and sounds.
I have seen many artists perform live, so I feel that the atmosphere of the live shows I have experienced is ingrained in my brain.
Your journey with AI
In recent years, AI-generated art has gained significant traction. What are your thoughts on AI as a tool for artists?
With the advent of generative AI, I started using it because I believe it has the potential to realize the creation of artwork that is difficult to express in analogue or digital collage.
I believe that artists will be collaborating with AI even more in the future. I believe it will also provide hints for new ideas for artists.
Generative AI sometimes surprises me by generating expressions that I could not have imagined. I sometimes dare to experiment by generating unpredictable prompts.
How do AI-assisted tools fit into your artistic workflow?
At first, I thought I could use AI to quickly create the expressions I wanted to create, but when I actually used the generative AI, it did not work the way I wanted it to, and it took a lot of time, and I worked so hard on it that my hands got tendonitis and I lost sleep from concentrating too much.
I am getting a little more familiar with how to create prompts and hope to realize and produce my ideas more quickly.
Do you think AI-generated imagery can coexist with traditional and digital art forms? Or do you see challenges in its integration?
I believe that coexistence with generative AI will increase, but there are many integration challenges.
There is a possibility that an era will come in the future when AI will generate work autonomously. It may happen that it will be difficult to distinguish between works created by humans and those created by AI autonomously.
I believe that it is important for artists to have their own ideas, to be able to transmit them, and to include expression in a physical environment.
What are your views on the ethical aspects of AI-generated art, especially regarding originality and ownership?
As for originality, AI is learning and generating from past data, and I am trying to come up with new ideas from my past experiences and memories.
Even if I come up with a novel idea, it is often already expressed by artists who have gone before me. I am constantly searching for new ways to express myself and to find value in my own work.
Copyrights vary by country and law, and there may be problems with commercial use, depending on what the AI learns. I believe that we should carefully consider ethical issues in our activities.
The Future
As technology continues to evolve, are there any future projects or themes you’re excited to explore?
In the future, I would like to produce music and videos using generative AI. In image generation, we have created a lot of images and have done a lot of trial and error. I will continue to experiment with video and music while continuing to generate images.
This is still a few years away, but when technology becomes more advanced, I would like to create a doppelganger with my memories, experiences, and abilities. If an AI exists that has the same sensibilities as me and is capable of autonomous creative activities, what kind of expression will it produce? Such future possibilities are also in my imagination.
Lastly, where can people find and follow your work? And is there any advice you’d give to emerging artists exploring surreal and tech-driven themes?
I am still experimenting with generative AI and looking for new ways to express myself, but I create in the hope of moving some emotion in the people who see my work.
Many amazing artists are utilizing generative AI on Instagram. I am inspired by the new and amazing art I see every day. I think it would be fun to try to post every day utilizing generative AI.
My Instagram is @om000om000om. I hope you feel free to talk to me.
mo•ᴗ•om
