Den som siger dans, siger data / Those who say dance, say data, 2024

04:57 min video, Deforum, Stable Diffusion

The above video is only an excerpt. Get in touch to get a link to the whole thing.

Click to load imageA frame from the video work showing Ada dancing in the middle looking to the right, and on both sides you see AI versions of the same Ada dancing."

To reduce website CO2e emissions, project images need to be manually loaded.

A frame from the video work showing Ada dancing in the middle looking to the right, and on both sides you see AI versions of the same Ada dancing."

Click to load imageA frame from the video work showing Ada dancing in the middle looking to the right, hand on her head, and on both sides you see AI versions of the same Ada dancing."

To reduce website CO2e emissions, project images need to be manually loaded.

A frame from the video work showing Ada dancing in the middle looking to the right, hand on her head, and on both sides you see AI versions of the same Ada dancing."

Click to load imageA frame from the video work showing Ada dancing in the middle with eyes closed, and on both sides you see AI versions of the same Ada dancing."

To reduce website CO2e emissions, project images need to be manually loaded.

A frame from the video work showing Ada dancing in the middle with eyes closed, and on both sides you see AI versions of the same Ada dancing."

Click to load imageA frame from the video work showing Ada dancing in the middle looking to the right, hair whipping around, and on both sides you see AI versions of the same Ada dancing."

To reduce website CO2e emissions, project images need to be manually loaded.

A frame from the video work showing Ada dancing in the middle looking to the right, hair whipping around, and on both sides you see AI versions of the same Ada dancing."

About

"Those who say dance, say data" is a hybrid AI video work about feminine labor, data, AI and dancing.


The video work consists of three separate videos shown simultaneously. In the middle, we see a real recording of myself dancing in front of a white curtain. On the left and right side, we see two AI-generated videos based on the central recording. Hundreds of uncanny digital women are dancing in tune with the real Ada. Their faces even look slightly like her.

In the original video, I am dancing to the song "Alors on danse" by Stromae. The final video has been slowed down and the music has been replaced with an original composition, which is inspired by "Alors on danse". The title of the work also alludes to the song by reusing the grammatical structure of the first verse, which repeatedly goes "Qui dit X, dit y", or in English "Those who say X, say Y".

The work is accompanied by a micro essay, which gives more context to why the work was created. You can read it here, although it's currently only available in Danish.


"Those who say dance, say data" is a commentary on the gender dynamics in the online AI economy. While looking up tutorials on how to create AI videos with Stable Diffusion, I came across a lot of male content creators. In a lot of cases, they would use videos of women, and particularly women dancing, as the basis for their tutorial. These videos were most likely taken without consent.

Dance videos have a long history on the Internet, and have recently been a huge part of the rise of TikTok. At the same time, they tend to be seen as frivolous and without value, even though their impact on social media is vast. These male content creators seem to inadvertently acknowledge the value of dance videos, because otherwise, why would they steal them? If they had just recorded a video of themselves sitting in front of a screen, much fewer people would probably click their thumbnails. In recording myself dancing and making AI videos from my own body, "Those who say dance, say data" acts as a rebuttal to this gender inequal online economy.


The two AI videos in "Those who say dance, say data" are created by plugging the central video into Deforum and Controlnet.

The music is composed specifically for this video without the use of AI.

Exhibitions

  • Group exhibition. Kunstnernes Efterårsudstilling, Copenhagen, Denmark.
CO2e used: ~0.00g