Your Earliest Memory is the Oldest Part of You

Paul Stuart’s debut solo exhibition invites us to reflect on the rapidly advancing influence of generated artificial intelligence that is shaping our relationship with image, sound and the written word. The work presented in this exhibition explore how AI’s presence is becoming embedded into our everyday lives and subtly shifting our relationship with these mediums.

In his paintings he creates a striking juxtaposition that contrast his quick, expressive portraits that embrace accidents, abstractions and imperfections, with a single photo-realistic titled Portrait of NO1 - a depiction of a non-human portrait generated by AI itself when asked to generate an image of itself.

Stuart’s decision to include an AI-generated subject, reflects his unease with the increasing role of artificial intelligence in art and life. Through the contrasts between the expressive and imperfect portraits of human subjects and the precise photo realistic portrait of an AI subject, the exhibition invites viewers to question the authenticity and authorship of images, sounds and works that shape our modern experiences as the boundaries between human and machine continue to blur. Stuart challenges us to reflect on what it means to create, to remember, and to be human in an age of rapidly advance technology.

Paul Stuart (b. 1985, St Albans) is a Hertfordshire based artist creating paintings and drawings with a focus on portraits and figurative art. His work delves into the human form and the emotions that define our experiences, employing a mixed media approach while also exploring digital and moving image mediums.

Paul studied at Leeds Beckett University and Middlesex University. His practice is influenced by a wide range of figurative and portrait artists, alongside abstract painters and sculptors, whose work informs his exploration of form and emotion.

An emerging artist, his recent achievements include winning a bursary that led to his first solo exhibition at Broadway Gallery, being longlisted for the BEEP Painting Prize 2024, and being selected for the Works on Paper Exhibition 2024 in London.

www.paulstuartstudio.com