Georgie Roxby Smith, Just Breathe, 2024

Georgie Roxby Smith’s Just Breathe merges GTA V in-game machinima selfies and generative artificial intelligence, investigating the evolving notion of identity in the 21st century. This short video integrates AI-modulated physiological functions into a digital character, which is typically constrained by stringent game mechanics and predefined animations. This unorthodox amalgam accentuates the avatar’s entrapment within simulated constructs versus the illusion of boundless freedom within the ostensibly 'open' gaming environment.

This paradox mirrors our own interactions in synthetic spaces, where a sense of liberation and empowerment is counterbalanced by the limitations imposed by the prerogatives of opaque algorithms and the inherent extractivist ideology of surveillance capitalism. Conversely, the act of breathing symbolizes an act of defiance and transcendence, imbuing the avatar with a semblance of agency and autonomy within an alter- native plane of existence

Accompanying the visual component is an ambient sound- scape composed of auditory cues extracted from both the game and IRL, effectively blurring the lines between different kinds of being. Just Breathe invites audiences to contemplate the porous boundaries and layered interactions between virtual and lived identities, suggesting a continuum rather than an antinomy, because the post-photographic self is not merely a passive representation but an active, dynamic, and hybrid construct that challenges traditional notions of authenticity. Georgie Roxby Smith prompts a reevaluation of concepts such as identity, presence, and performance within our mediated ecosystem.

More by Georgie Roxby Smith: georgieroxbysmith.net