GREGORY CHATONSKY: DAR TANTORA RESIDENCY
FEB 2023 – MAR 2024
Gregory Chatonsky, a pioneer in net art and AI, has transformed AlUla’s storied landscapes into mesmerizing artistic expressions that bridge the ancient and the contemporary. His residency, under the AlUla Artist Residency program by the Royal Commission for AlUla and Afalula, has culminated in three groundbreaking projects: The Dream of the Stones, Enfold, and Completion 2.0. Each project redefines how we perceive heritage, nature, and technology, creating a dialogue that transcends time and culture.
THE DREAM OF STONES
A generative film of indefinite duration, The Dream of the Stones delves into AlUla’s mineral metamorphosis, inspired by the region’s eroded landscapes and historical depth. Chatonsky employs AI to reinterpret AlUla’s vistas through a process of ‘hallucination,’ where photographs and archival images are transformed into a new visual language. This creates an interplay between natural formations and digital imagination, crafting a narrative that is both intuitive and immersive.
Presented during the Arts AlUla Festival (February 2024) and featured in the Orbis Tertius exhibition (October 2024, Paris), this project includes a limited edition of 1,000 prints and 2,000 unique postcards. It invites audiences to explore how technology reimagines the natural world, blending existence with imagination.
ENFOLD
Enfold takes a historic mural from AlUla’s old city and reinterprets it using AI. The generative software produces infinite variations of the mural, maintaining its essence while transforming it into a continuum of interpretations. This project, crafted with palm fabrics and laser-cut aluminum, challenges the notion of tradition as static, proposing instead that heritage evolves through a spectrum of perspectives.
First presented during the Arts AlUla Residency Exhibition (February 2024), Enfold was created with contributions from local artisans at the Madrasat Addera workshop, emphasizing the fusion of traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology.
COMPLETION 2.0
In Completion 2.0, Chatonsky explores fragments from AlUla’s archaeological museum, imagining their potential futures. Using AI’s inpainting capabilities, he generates unseen extensions of these artifacts, blending ancient textures with contemporary forms. The resulting sand sculptures and 3D-printed clay blocks transcend their historical origins, connecting the ancient with speculative futures.
On view in AlUla Old Town, Completion 2.0 invites viewers to see history as a dynamic interplay of eras, cultures, and technologies. It reimagines fragments as evolving elements in a timeline that bridges past and future.
