San Francisco (Niceaunties)
Video, 2023
About the artwork
Aunties arrive on holiday in San Francisco for the first time, discovering a city shrouded in fog and mystery. The video follows the aunties as they tour the city, visiting nature, sea lions, and friends. It concludes with the aunties posing with sculptures at the Kehinde Wiley exhibition at the De Young Museum, a reference to Niceaunties' actual visit to the city in September 2023.
Created, animated, and edited by Niceaunties in the programmes Midjourney and Runwayml gen2.
Sound design by Niceaunties
Audio explanation
Listen to Niceaunties discuss this work.
Niceaunties is a contemporary artist and designer based in Singapore. Drawing inspiration from the influential women in her family and the distinct 'auntie culture,' her work explores themes of ageing, beauty, personal freedom, and everyday life through AI and digital art. Her life experiences and architectural training inform the conceptual basis of her pieces, while her focus on the nuanced behaviours of 'aunties' highlights the culture prevalent in Asian communities.
These women, embodying a spectrum from strange and funny to mean and kind, profoundly influenced the artist's early life and creative narrative, laying the foundation for the unique storytelling of "Niceaunties." Exploring themes like aging, beauty, personal freedom, and the nuances of everyday life, Niceaunties expresses her vision through the mediums of generative and digital art. Her creations are marked by an amalgamation of surrealism, fantasy, and the vibrant aesthetics of kawaii culture.
Influenced by surreal art, fantasy, and kawaii culture, Niceaunties' art champions empowerment and self-expression.