I paint 15 postcards with watercolor. For each card, I cut out two animals of the same species from 19th- and 20th-century books. A third animal image I generate using AI. I assemble the three images and affix them to the postcard. I send the postcards to artists across 6 countries.

Work statement

How humans perceive and depict the world has changed over time. From ancient cave drawings to contemporary photography, there are countless ways of representing reality. By using artificial intelligence to “create” an image of an animal and placing it next to human-made pictures, I question the very meaning of “perceive” and “depict.”

The sources of a text-to-image AI are, for now, drawings and photographs originally created by humans. But what about the AI’s calculated output? Is it entirely artificial, still human, or a blend of both? And how do AI-generated images influence our perception of nature and of the world itself?

15 postcards of the mail art project 'zoo of three centuries' by Seth Nicemail

Water colour, paper cut-outs, mounting film, on paper, 2025 | Set of 15 pieces, one of which (1/15) is sent to myself as an artist’s proof.

Sources:
Meyers Konversationslexikon / Leipzig, Verlag des Bibliographischen Instituts, 1885-1890
Das moderne Tierlexikon / Gütersloh, Bertelsmann Lexikon-Verlag, 1979
Text-to-image AI, Adobe Firefly, 2025

Animals featured in the project:
horses, chameleons, rabbits, snails, cows, housebirds, fishes, parrots, bugs, chicken, ducks, humming-birds, doves, birds of prey, butterflies

Tags: contains AI generated content or AI support, contains artefacts from the era before AI

2 Comments

theo on 20250524 at 21:03

I got the fishies! Not sure of the odd one out but if I have to guess, it’s the one on the lower right.
- Seth on 20250524 at 22:03
  
  Thanks for your acknowledgment, Theo. I’m glad they arrived safely. It’s been a long way to swim.

#6 Zoo of three centuries

Work statement

2 Comments

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