AIAIA – Aesthetic Interventions in Artificial Intelligence in Africa | An exhibition by Ralph Borland

26 January – 5 February 2023
Open daily 9 am – 5 pm

An exhibition of art and research into a human-machine collaboration focused on healthcare. As much as automation and emerging technologies threaten the future of work, what is their potential for enhancing human experience? At its centre is the artwork of Bone Flute, a 3D-printed replica of the artist's femur, made into a musical instrument. The work is a collaboration between artist-researcher Ralph Borland, orthopaedic surgeon Rudolph Venter, and musician Allesandro Gigli, with a short film by Dara Kell.

Opening event: Wednesday 25 January, 6 – 8 pm
Closing event: Saturday, 4 January, 10 am – 12 pm

AIAIA – Aesthetic Interventions in Artificial Intelligence in Africa is an exhibition of creative work from a research project into emerging technologies in healthcare in Africa, based at HUMA, the Institute for Humanities in Africa at the University of Cape Town. Titled Future Hospitals: 4IR and Ethics of Care and funded by the Carnegie Corporation, Future Hospitals draws together a diverse team of researchers working on individual projects to investigate the impact of the ‘4th Industrial Revolution’ on hospitals and health workers across the continent.

AIAIA is the work of artist-researcher Ralph Borland in collaboration with a doctor, a musician, and a filmmaker. The exhibition centres on the artwork Bone Flute, produced in collaboration with an orthopaedic surgery laboratory at Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, which is pioneering low-cost methods for scanning and 3D-printing patients’ bones in order to practice complex surgeries. Their approach utilises the existing hand skills of surgeons while taking advantage of new technologies that allow for simulation before the patient is operated on.

The exhibition explores some of the main themes in emerging digital technologies – concerns about the impact of automation, the use of data, the relationship between individuals and systems, and the possibilities for human-machine collaboration – as well as issues around access to technology in healthcare for patients. Woven through the exploration of research work is the artist-researcher’s own experience as a patient and user of health services during the period of the research project.