“Kabukichō”, night walk / 10/01/2021, 01.44 pm / BigGAN (Generative Adversarial Networks) image training model / Freeform / Limited collection of 25 images and one video artwork

Kabukichō, night walk is a digital interpretation using artificial intelligence exploring proxemics; the study of space and population density in relation to human behavior, communication and social interaction. Kabukichō, an entertainment district in Tokyo, is an essential representation of the condensed urban experience as an escape from productivity to a space of pleasure, distraction and indulgence. This spatial relationship manifests itself as a forced, socially constructed fragment within the greater scope of modern-day living. In the changing context of technology, experiences enter intangible environments that both compress information and time into seemingly infinite space.

Kabukichō, night walk, performs as a playground to navigate these ideas. The outcome is surprisingly abstract and appears deliberately indifferent and dehumanizing, using amalgamated source data from urban objects like neon lights and city layouts rather than human features. This creates a painterly, impressionistic style to the images where an almost grid-like pattern presents itself amidst glowing, organic strokes. This series is a place full of contrasts, bordering between the structure of urbanization and the fluidity of human desires. Kabukichō, night walk is a mediation space within the urban landscape; a holding place of temporary intimacy and transactional relationships as a reflection of a social space that indulges in immediate, material results.