Second Ceiling

ALIGNED WITH THE UNIVERSE by Leah Schrager consists of 13 AI-generated images based on photographs of herself, reflecting her navigation through major life changes and evolving perspectives.

Schrager has been using her likeness in her artwork since 2009 and is best known for her photography, such as INFINITY SELFIE and her Instagram performance ONA ARTIST. Now, she transforms her artistic style and practice to reflect a shifting perspective away from individualism, positioning each of us as protagonists and prioritizing the betterment of the greater good and others. In her first foray into AI, Schrager utilizes the unique aesthetics of this new technology to encompass the chaos and joy of motherhood, inspired by art history’s depiction of women in traditional art.

“As I became a mother, I wanted to explore the experience of bringing another life into this world, learning to care for things that are vulnerable, and feeling at one with the earth and its beauty through my creative innate energy. This has resulted in images that are more anonymized (any-woman), abstract, and organic.

There is a gaze on mothers as well, a sort of assessment, judgment, appreciation, awe, and/or contempt, depending on the person gazing. That's a new experience for me—a new kind of gaze. How do I deal with this change? My change in role as a mother, my change in location to the Sonoran Desert, and the change of technology to AI.

I think most people can relate to moving, becoming a parent, or facing new technology. ALIGNED WITH THE UNIVERSE is my exploration of these experiences. I hope that in its unexpected, quirky, poetic, and dramatic images, it brings up a way to address, face, or just feel these issues.”

– Leah Schrager