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Artist behind #viral astronaut brides: I’ll make the world my gallery
Pune-New York based artist Jayesh Sachdev used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to visualise astronauts in space sporting bridal attire. Many social media users are loving the look, but there are also some who have trolled it. But the artist feels “inspiration is all about experimentation”.
Come wedding season and Indians can’t keep calm, as they love to splurge on exquisite designer wear. On social media, however, the wedding craze has permeated even the realm of space as artist Jayesh Sachdev’s concept of brides adorning astronaut gear goes viral. He created this using Artificial Intelligence (AI), which he treats “as a method of creating functional art”.
The 43-year-old artist, who shuffles between Pune and New York, feels “inspiration is all about experimentation”. This is what made his recent Instagram post — portraying astronauts in bridal attire — amass more than 13,000 likes. Sachdev confesses, “I had not expected such a huge response from my bridal series! Someone called it a ‘TV bahu in NASA’. In fact, before this, I posted my work on the cats in bridal couture, which received over five lakh reactions and some of the most hilarious comments!”
It wasn’t, however, just the social media reactions that touched Sachdev, who informs that some comments are also from those persons working in NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). “One worker commented on the post sharing how women from NASA are underrepresented, and my artwork resonated with them. Then somebody from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) who is researching AI, reached out to me. It’s heartening to see such response, as it makes me feel there is a real impact from what is being put out there.”
Sachdev’s shares how “Senior designers from across the world including Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, and USA have reached out” to collaborate with him, after reading his post. “It’s quite exciting how this led to newer opportunities come my way,” he says, revealing how he started fiddling with AI just a month back. “Back then I couldn’t have anticipated where this has reached today. I’m still sitting on some 200 posts, and would share them very soon,” he informs.
But, not everyone sees art in the same perspective. In Sachdev’s case, too, the artworks have received a sizeable share of trolling. “Most people saw it in good light, but others trolled the astronaut brides saying it’s backward. Among those who commented, one wrote: ‘When you are ambitious but society wants you to get married’. It’s actually all about your perception. My previous post about depicting monkeys in high couture was also called out, and labelled racist. I ask why is it racist? The intent was never in that direction! People just have a strange way of responding to things,” opines Sachdev, saying, “My job is to make art, and I will make the world my gallery.”
Author tweets @KritiKambiri
