Jack Butcher's 'Latent' Exhibition Blends AI and Traditional Photography at Paris Photo 2024

Paris, France – Artist Jack Butcher's latest collection, 'Latent,' made a significant impact at Paris Photo 2024, showcasing 80 unique pairs of digital negatives and silver gelatin prints. The exhibition, featured in the digital sector of the prestigious fair from November 7-10, 2024, coincided with the centenary celebration of the Surrealist movement in its city of origin.

'Latent' explores the intersection of artificial intelligence-generated imagery and traditional photographic techniques, challenging established notions of creativity and authorship. Each artwork consists of a digital negative, minted on the Ethereum blockchain, paired with a physical silver gelatin print. The project was curated by Nina Roehrs for the digital sector, as highlighted in a tweet from typo.eth, stating, "> ‘Spectral Metamorphosis’ by @jackbutcher — one of 80 digital negative and silver gelatin print pairs from ‘Latent,’ exhibited in the digital sector of Paris Photo 2024, curated by @NinaRoehrs to mark the centenary of the Surrealist movement."

The collection delves into the "latent space" of neural networks, where AI navigates high-dimensional representations of visual possibilities through text prompts. Butcher's process involved synthesizing thousands of AI outputs, with less than one percent selected for the final exhibition. This innovative approach positions digital negatives as primary artifacts, translating surrealist ethos into the digital age.

The physical prints were produced at PICTO Bastille, a renowned Parisian darkroom historically used by photographic masters such as Henri Cartier-Bresson. This blend of cutting-edge AI and analog darkroom techniques creates a dialogue between contemporary digital art and the legacy of early 20th-century avant-garde photography. The exhibition's conceptual framework echoes historical debates surrounding artistic authorship and mechanical reproduction, now re-examined through the lens of AI.

Jack Butcher, known for his "Visualize Value" aesthetic, extends his minimalist clarity into 'Latent,' reinforcing the tension between form and substance. The exhibition was also curated by Marlene Corbun and produced by Martin Klipp, with sonic elements provided by Gary Powell of The Libertines. The 'Latent' series quickly sold out, demonstrating strong interest from both traditional art collectors and the Web3 community, with sales totaling approximately €300,000.