There is a widespread fear that AI will wipe artists off the face of the earth. Although at Sónar+D we are neither techno optimists nor techno pessimists (everything in moderation), we believe that some artists are living the best moment of their career thanks to AI, and some have even discovered a career they did not know they had. This is the case of Niceaunties.

This architect from Singapore (Wenhui Lim) has built, with the help of AI, the Auntieverse: a speculative universe that places older women at the centre of everyday life, exploring topics such as food, beauty, care and environmental awareness through digital art. Influenced by surrealism, fantasy and kawaii culture, her work is a celebration of the power and self expression of the aunties: the aunts, the neighbours, the women of a certain age who too often disappear from the cultural narrative. The Auntieverse has travelled to the most important museums in the world, made the pages of Forbes and The Guardian, landed on a billboard on Sunset Boulevard, headlined a TED Talk, and is now arriving at Sónar+D. 

In this talk, Lim explores how the cultural figure of the auntie became a lens for rethinking beauty, body, and landscape, from collaborations with L'Oréal to reinterpretations of Eastern and Western landscape traditions.

If AI had not existed, perhaps Niceaunties and her universe would not have existed either, and the world would be a much sadder place.