h.A.I.ku
Leanne Poole

In hA.I.ku, I explore the uneasy presence of artificial intelligence in our daily lives through papermaking and the slow, deliberate craft of Joomchi—an ancient Korean method of transforming paper using water, pressure, and time.

I have handstitched into the textural pieces. The works incorporate text, much of which is AI generated. Can you tell the difference? Does AI have anything meaningful to say? Can it match the emotion and creativity of humanity?

At the centre of the exhibition is a series of stitched haiku. Some are written by humans, others by AI. Their authorship is initially withheld. Can a poem generated by code evoke the same feeling as one born from lived experience?

I’d like you to think about the increasing blur between human and machine, author and algorithm. AI is already shaping how we work, communicate, and create; often without regulation, consent, or even public understanding. Through handmade processes that resist speed, I aim to reclaim space for slowness and consideration.

What are we automating? What are we surrendering?