Bug

Assembly presents “Bug” by Brooklyn-based artist Charlie Engman. The post-photographic works of Engman’s NFT collection question how images relate to those that have preceded and surround them, as well as the expectations we bring to images and how we interact with them. By using artificial intelligence (AI), Engman generates images that are themselves created by visual culture, yet are not otherwise bound by human logic, cultural codes, or the physical world, augmenting our reality in challenging ways. Some of the images are generated using only text prompts; some are made by mixing pre-existing imagery and text; some are amalgamations of several types of images. These unusual creatures that recur throughout the series, the bugs become the protagonist provoking important questions in art-making such as hierarchy, consent, access, labor, technique, and the mythos of individual genius.