Some people have said they find it frustrating that they can't look at a piece and know all the different layers to it, that some part of the work is inaccessible, but to me that's the point – it's the feeling of uncertainty that comes with trying to navigate a new language, environment or culture.
Betty Leung’s multidisciplinary practice allows her to research the relationship between migration, labour and technology through various mediums.
For her first Platform presentation, Leung created a new body of work that is a continuation of her Interpreting Relations series. The name of the series refers to a common experience of migrant children whose parents often depend on their translation and interpretation skills in a range of settings. This subject is of particular interest to the artist as Leung herself has a multilayered migration story: of Chinese descent, she grew up in Australia and subsequently moved to London to pursue her career as an artist.
Additionally, the Interpreting Relations series draws on the idea of the left-brain interpreter, a neuropsychological concept which relates to the story of the self and how the brain interprets the outside world.
Existing on the thin line between algorithmic structure and intuitive abstraction, Leung’s work transcends national and cultural borders.
Overview
Her artistic process consists of using a style transfer AI tool to combine two separate images that reflect her identity and background, allowing the algorithm to generate a hybrid third image. This allows Leung to give the imagery new narratives, pulling the viewer in with elaborate and intricate compositions that merely whisper the original stories.
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Intertwining her own storyline into the narrative, Leung stitches over the image, bringing a human touch back into the generative process.
The viewer is thus confronted with the result of a contrasting fusion of digital machinery and elements of classical embroidery representative of the garment industry.
Betty Leung
Interpreter XIX
2022
Betty Leung
Interpreter XVIII
2022
Betty Leung
Interpreter XX
2022
The sculptural work presented is made in a similar collaboration between technology and the artist’s own handwork.
Made of fabric, the pieces adopt a fluidity of form that allows them to seamlessly coalesce into any environment. For this presentation, Leung has invited multidisciplinary artist Sian Fan to give life to Interpreter XVII and spotlight the movement that characterises these pieces. Heavily involved in the post-production of the performance video, she decided to further highlight this amalgamation of digital and human by including glitches that would occur in the editing software.
Betty Leung
Peripheral Interpretations XIII
2021
Betty Leung
Peripheral Interpretations IX
2021
Betty Leung
Peripheral Interpretations X
2021
Betty Leung
Peripheral Interpretations XI
2021
Betty Leung
Peripheral Interpretations XII
2022
About the Artist
Based in London, Betty Leung is an Australian-British visual artist with Chinese heritage.
She obtained a Diploma in Art & Design (Distinction) from City & Guilds of London Art School in 2018 and a MA (Distinction) from University of the Arts London, Camberwell College in 2020. Leung was the winner of the Graduate Art Prize in 2019, a UK award presented by Artiq. She was invited to a residency at the Fores Project in 2020 and is currently an artist in residence at Metroland Studios. In 2020 and 2021, she has exhibited in group shows with Saatchi Gallery and Unit London.
– Image courtesy of Artiq.
Chosen Charity
Chosen Charity
Algorithmic Justice League
In today’s world, AI systems are used to decide who gets hired, the quality of medical treatment we receive, and whether we become a suspect in a police investigation. While these tools show great promise, they can also harm vulnerable and marginalised people, and threaten civil rights.
The Algorithmic Justice League’s mission is to raise awareness about the impacts of AI, equip advocates with empirical research, build the voice and choice of the most impacted communities, and galvanise researchers, policy makers and industry practitioners to mitigate AI harms and biases. With that in mind, the organisation is building a movement to shift the AI ecosystem towards equitable and accountable AI.