Photogravure Meets AI in Anthropomorphic Portraits
SERIES STATEMENT
Tortured Souls reimagines iconic artists as anthropomorphic figures, created with AI-assisted design and printed as hand-pulled photogravures. Each full-length environmental portrait draws on the cultural influence and personal mythology of its subject. Rather than dwell on biography or tragedy, these works are “echoes—part invented, part remembered,” inviting reflection on a shared artistic legacy.
The series begins with AI-generated compositions in the style of 19th-century wet plate collodion photography. Each digital sketch is carefully refined before being translated into photogravure prints. This process preserves the depth, tone, and tactile qualities of historic printmaking while integrating the precision of contemporary tools. The result is a body of work that connects past and present through both subject and process.
This series reimagines cultural icons who were tragically lost, as anthropomorphic animals in wet plate style portraits. Created with AI and finalized as photogravures, these figures form an imagined community bound by presence, memory, and creative legacy. — Trace Nichols
Medium: Hand-pulled photogravure prints from AI-generated source imagery
Size: 10” x 12.5” (image area), printed on Awagami Bamboo Select
Latest Exhibition
Art = Community at Aspen Chapel Gallery
August 20 – September 27, 2025
Aspen Chapel Gallery, Aspen, CO – Open daily 10–5