Image Syncers
- Nina Davies
Western Front is pleased to present Image Syncers, a solo exhibition by Canadian-British artist Nina Davies, featuring a new body of work developed through our artist-in-residence program. The exhibition responds to current TikTok trends in which people mimic artificially generated videos, with Davies reimagining this choreographic phenomenon as a tool to disrupt visual economies and open up alternative modes of meaning-making.
At the centre of the exhibition is a 12-minute video framed as an episode of the fictional podcast What’s Sizzlin’. In it, host Bryce Snyder interviews journalist Teagan Carroll about her exposé on a break-in at the Trutch Seed Bank. Carroll reveals that the group responsible, known as the Plot Corps, physically reproduced AI-generated imagery to evade detection. Their discussion expands into broader reflections on “perception-collapse,” “image syncing,” and the evolving relationships between language, images, and bodies, in a world shaped by synthetic media.
Accompanying the video are sculptural works that extend the world of the narrative. A series of holographic forms appear as spectral stand-ins for the fictional Image Syncers, while transparent, vitrine-like backpacks contain their personal items. These include smartphones displaying images that resemble AI-generated scenes but were produced entirely through analogue means—costumes, props, make-up, and lighting—as well as the “cursed hands” used by the characters to interface with generated worlds or manipulate real-world events.
On Jan 16, 17, 23, and 24, the exhibition will be activated by a performance in the Grand Luxe Hall structured as a fictional gathering of Image Syncers. Four dancers enact AI-inspired gestures using analogue techniques, showing how generated footage can be simulated by the body, blurring the line between human and synthetic movement.
Credits
Performers: Dave Biddle, Torien Cafferata, Lisa Christiansen, Sula Castle, Livona Ellis, Jose Funnell, Gracy Gandhi, Kevyn Hu, Alger Liang, Alicia Laing, Sihan Ling, Christina Lovey, Nathaniel Marchand, Rebecca Margolick, Manuel Muñoz, Andy Newman, Duane Nasis, Richard Pye, Simon Roberts, Niloufar Samadi, Gian Singh Sanghera-Warren, Noah Sawchuck, David Varhegyi, Christoph Von Riedemann, Scott Young
Videography: Studio Reverse Magic
Photography: Dan Jackson
Music: FHUR
Make up artist: Kendahl Jung
Costumes/props: Kitty Blandy
About the Artist
Nina Davies is a Canadian-British artist who considers the present moment by observing dance in popular culture and how it is disseminated, circulated, made, and consumed. Working primarily with video, performance, writing, and installation, her work considers current dance phenomena in relation to the wider socio-technical environments from which it emerges. This includes research into the recent commodification of the dancing body on digital platforms, and rethinking dances of today as traditional dances of the future. Oscillating between the use of fiction and non-fiction, her work helps build new critical frameworks for engaging with dance practices.
Accessibility
Western Front’s gallery is a ground-floor, wheelchair-accessible space. A partially accessible all-gender bathroom is available.
What to expect: The exhibition includes video and amplified sound in a low-light environment. Portable seating is available upon request at reception. The exhibition also features hologram fans with spinning lights, which may trigger seizures or discomfort for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Please view with caution.
Alternative formats: A transcript of the video is available at reception.
Further details about visiting and accessibility at Western Front can be found here.
Acknowledgements
Presented with support from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.
We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.