PYSCHOPOMP! (09.26 - 10.26)

PSYCHOPOMP! is the inaugural exhibition of the Roger Ballen Centre for Photography, marking the opening of the Centre as a new space dedicated to critical photographic and image-based practice in Africa. Curated by Boris Eldagsen, the exhibition brought together more than twenty international artists working with artificial intelligence as a tool for introspective image-making, presenting both still images and video works.

Drawing on Jungian concepts of the unconscious and the “shadow,” the exhibition examined how AI-generated imagery can surface hidden impulses, memories, and psychological states. The works ranged from surreal to unsettling, challenging conventional distinctions between photography, machine-generated images, and human authorship. Rather than presenting AI as a technological novelty, PSYCHOPOMP! positioned it as a means of psychological inquiry, raising questions about identity, perception, and what it means to be human in an algorithmic era. The exhibition is presented alongside a programme of public lectures and discussions on the distinction between AI and contemporary art.