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Gallery Entry

The Locals

By Jarrad M · AU

The Locals is an interactive artwork in my shopfront window in Brunswick East, Melbourne. People walking past stop, take part, and become characters in a growing collection. Together, they form a loose portrait of the neighbourhood across time. I created it because I wanted to demonstrate that AI can be used in a purely whimsical, joy-creating way. I see a lot of negativity around AI, but that has not been my experience of making things with it. The work has no productivity goal. I wanted to make something people could stumble upon and enjoy. The characters are deliberately nostalgic. I wanted the feeling of a pre-internet brain. A lower-resolution graphical reproduction of someone forces choices: what will be featured, what will not? What dimensions of fidelity will make it into the final form? I like that the result can be low quality and recognisable all at once. I think the future depends on what we build. The future I want is one where things like The Locals exist.

Category
CONCEPTS MIXED MEDIA
Approved
13 October 2026