EGO in the Shell - Singular Yet Divisible
This self-portrait presents a "singular self" in contrast to the anonymity of the crowd. Yet, even this "one" can be easily divided and distributed through the gaze of others or by algorithms. The artist inscribes this paradox of being "singular, yet shared" onto her own image.
Here, the artist re-enacts the role of Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell. This is not a mere costume imitation but an attempt to take on the identity of a cybernetic being through her own body. Kusano is simultaneously "herself" and a "vessel for a narrative" that traverses reality and fiction.
The "one" here refers not to a numerical unit but to "oneness"—a state where a single entity contains multiple properties, and where the many cohere into a whole. This self-portrait thus visualizes the coexistence of "one and many" in a contemporary context, revealing the fundamental structure of the self, in which the "one" is only constituted through its relationship with the "many."
EGO in the Shell — Empty Yet Multiplying
None of the people depicted here exist. They are fictional portraits generated by an AI, referencing the world of the 1995 film Ghost in the Shell and interwoven with fragments of the artist's own facial data, treated as an impersonal material like paint. Inhabiting their cybernetic bodies, these figures exude a sense of drama, sorrow, and intimacy in their quiet, everyday moments.
This series embodies the paradox of being "empty, yet multiplying," as non-existent images proliferate before our eyes. Infinitely replicated and expanded by AI, these images begin to invade our memory as seemingly authentic fragments of a past. In Buddhist thought, the self is not a fixed entity but a transient phenomenon (kū), momentarily formed by a confluence of conditions. How, then, does our self-perception transform when AI statistically generates and multiplies this "empty self"?
Furthermore, fragments of the artist are embedded within these generated figures. They are not entirely other, but rather "anonymous selves" that carry the artist's shadow. Viewers may find a faint sense of déjà vu in the countless faces, just as the artist seeks out scattered pieces of her own identity within them. This reveals a process that points to the Buddhist concept of engi (dependent origination): the self is not a solitary entity, but is conditionally formed only through its relationship with countless others.
