Refactored Canadiana Landscapes
Shaw's Refactor Project studies the relationship between contemporary culture, Canadian heritage and coming to terms with technological influences that makes decisions for us in our everyday life. Using the recent advancements in machine learning, deep learning and neural network algorithms, Shaw refactors the re-imagined geometric Group of Seven paintings by Douglas Coupland to re-modernizes them for our current society; a society that is on the tipping point of accepting Artificial Intelligence into our lives on a large scale. Working with the base of Coupland's series and combining it with the original Group of Seven Paintings, Shaw algorithmically analyzes the painting styles of Tom Thomson, Lawren Harris and J.E.H. MacDonald to apply these very personal artistic touches back onto their re-imagined geometric shapes by Coupland as an interpretation of the Canadian Wilderness.