How to Make is part of an on-going investigation into the generative and emergent qualities of photography, and the creative potential of the photographic print. Inspired by a broader cultural context of how-to-videos, step-by-step artificial intelligence, and algorithms, How to Make brings together photography, origami instructions, an AI voice generator, and a participatory element, to playfully explore tensions between input and output, and notions of (mis)translation and (mis)interpretation. The work invites participants to listen to the audio and (try to) follow the origami instructions, encouraging a tactile response to the photographs provided. Forms and spatial compositions are generated not only by individual responses to the instructions but by the participants' handling of the print and its specific material qualities, including its weight, thickness, and pliability.
Image Credit: James Clarkson. Installation view from 'An Elastic Continuum' (2023)