And We Thought is an art project born in 2022 from the meeting between Sineglossa, visual artist Roberto Fassone, and the idea was for an artificial entity capable of experiencing and narrating psychedelic journeys. From the collaboration between the artist and a creative technologist was born Ai Lai, an artificial intelligence fed with thousands of accounts of hallucinogenic trips, of which the artist read, analyzed and selected the most interesting parts. Among these accounts, some were about nonexistent works of art: Fassone took on the task of transporting these objects into reality, making them “prompts” from which he developed posters, music albums and films, reversing the standard process whereby machines give a human being a “prompt.”.
Awards
And we thought I (2022)
Technique: Poster
On display at: Combo, Turin
Exhibit produced in collaboration with Play with Food, Libreria Bodoni Spazio B, University of Turin, Combo Torino, KABUL magazine and Fanta MLN.
And we thought II (2022)
Technique: Poster and video
On display at: Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, Austria
And we thought III (2023)
Technique: Poster and video
On display at: Art city Bologna 2023, Alchemilla | Palazzo Vizzani, Bologna
And we thought IV (2023)
Technique: Poster and video
On display at: Maison du savoir, Luxembourg, as part of Nuit de La Culture, curated by Vincent Crapon
And we thought V (2025)
Technique: Poster and video
On display at: MAXXI Roma
Roberto Fassone
Roberto Fassone is different things. He lives and works between Florence, Asti, Senigallia and the metaphors we live by. His practice is about the strangeness of our existence. In the last years he exhibited and performed his work in national and international venues. Among others: Maison du Savoir, University of Luxembourg (2023); Ars Electronica, Linz (2022); Visions du Réel, Nyon, (2022); 25th Gabrovo Biennial of Humor & Satire in Art, Gabrovo (2022); Macro, Rome (2022); MAXXI, L’Aquila (2021); Mattatoio, Rome (2021); Lo schermo dell’arte, Firenze (2021); IIC, Paris (2020); Fanta-MLN, Milan (2023-2019); MAMbo, Bologna (2018); OGR, Turin (2018); Castello di Rivoli, Turin (2017); MOCAK, Krakow (2017); Quadriennale di Roma (2016); AOYS (online), Zkm, Karlsruhe (2015). He is the co-founder of the publishing house Roi de Coupe. His practice is open to collaboration: in the last years he worked with Jacopo Jenna, Kasia Fudakowski, Riccardo Banfi, Francesco Fonassi, Valeria Mancinelli, Mattia Pajè, Giacomo Raffaelli. He was awarded the Maxxi BVLGARI Prize for Digital Art in 2023.
Credits
And We Thought is produced as part of the FOOD DATA DIGESTION project, a research and production process that combines art and Artificial Intelligence curated by Sineglossa, in collaboration with Play with Food and Alchemilla, supported by the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation as part of the call “ART~WAVES. For creativity, from idea to scene,” promoted by Istituzione Bologna Musei /MAMbo – Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna. The dataset used for Ai Lai’s training comes from Shroomery.org, available in Creative Commons.
