AI-generated art is controversial. I had many thoughts about the Studio Ghibli-AI trend that became popular a few months ago; it was disrespectful to the artists and the worlds they created, and it wasn’t as similar as people would hope. In my vision, it was a bad rip-off.
In fact, AI often looks like a rip-off of the content it couldn’t quite replicate. This is why I was surprised to discover Niceaunties: Preserving and Reimagining the Auntie Archetype Through AI, Surrealism, and Social Commentary.
Niceaunties is a contemporary artist and designer based in Singapore. Influenced by surreal art, fantasy, and kawaii culture, she was able to take her imagination to new levels with this interesting AI project. The artist created a completely new universe with AI, as the artificial intelligence was responsible for bringing her world to life.
The Auntieverse is an “ongoing world-building project that explores the cultural archetype of the auntie—a figure deeply embedded in everyday life yet often misunderstood or misrepresented.” The artist explains that in many Asian societies, the term “auntie” can be used for both a familial title and a social label, which carries assumptions about age, personality, and societal roles.
At the same time, the artist also wanted to represent how aunties embody “tough love and complex forms of care.”
That said, what makes this AI-generated art so impressive is that “AI is not just a tool in Auntieverse, but it’s fundamental to its conceptual and creative approach.”
These are three ways the artist praises the AI-generated art in her work:
- Speed & Iteration: AI allows rapid prototyping, mirroring the conceptualizing process in all creative work.
- Visualising the Unseen: Many scenes in Auntieverse do not exist in reality—AI enables their creation.
- Integration with Traditional Tools: AI-generated images and videos are not the end product but a starting point. Niceaunties refines these works using manual editing, compositing, and storytelling techniques, ensuring a balance between technology and artistic intent.
You can learn more about the Auntieverse here.
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