“My work reflects my own curiosity about organic forms and how they are impacted by the emergence of technologies like AI.” Sculptor Suki Mehr forges her organic large scale metal designs from her foundational studies of biology and Grecian myth, and her interest over the past decade in AI. She sources limitless inspiration from ancient stories as well as nature - magnifying microscopic organic patterns on a massive scale. She also incorporates AI technology into her art, the layer to the art which fascinates her the most. 

Suki founded a collective of artists, poets, engineers and called Portal Project, together they consider the impact of technology on society. ‘We’ve brought installations to life that are both ephemeral and more permanent, mediums ranging from recycled 3D printed plastic, LED lights, cast steel to AI code. At an exhibition at Stanford University, we displayed ‘United States v. Alexa’, a 3D printed automaton presenting discussions around the future of law and AI regulation’. Mehr asks, ‘Is AI generation an extension of the programmer, the will of its “owner,” or an expression all its own?’ Under the light glow of ‘United States v. Alexa’, the murky future of speech unattached to personhood is illuminated. 

‘Korai’, Suki’s latest design stands over 10 feet tall: a monumental marble female form with a shell head forged in bronze. Audio emanates from the shell: a continuous AI generated re-interpretation of The Iliad, imbued with voices of diverse authors, read aloud by musicians and actors, reflecting the timeless struggles of man that repeat themselves endlessly. ‘We explore classic themes of humanity through Homer’s Iliad illuminated by the expanded consciousness of AI. This stone & steel oracle, an all-knowing demigod rewards the curious with re-imagined classic tales of free will, (im)mortality, love and war.’

Her artwork translates surreal environments for an ever-changing landscape on Earth while simultaneously designing an imaginary world for primordial deities - ones steeped in her studies of Ancient Greek as a child: an early love of myth, unrequited love, and Homeric epithets. Mehr’s sculpture installed in The Albany (Nassau, Bahamas) in 2023, depicts the moment of transformation when the nymph Daphne becomes a laurel tree: two hands delicately opening to the sky, fingertips blossoming with leaves and branches. Her recent installation, a colossal steel shell, glows in the heart of The St. Regis Bahia Beach (Puerto Rico), nestled between the ocean and El Yunque rainforest. The piece is an homage to the ocean and the myth of Triton’s conch used as a trumpet to quell the waves of the ocean. “Through scale, a piece can invert human significance in the hierarchy of the natural world. We should feel infinitesimally small beside the endless ocean.” 

Suki Mehr studied visual art at Brown University and as a graduate student at The Rhode Island School of Design. She leads business development at AI Marketing Solutions company Deal.AI.