Lucien Murat’s (b.1986, France) portraits explore the decay and transformation of the post-internet era, disrupted by the emergence of artificial intelligence and global warming. A constant flow of images, videos and texts is consumed and processed by digital platforms, fundamentally altering our perceptions of identity. The advent of AI complicates this understanding; computer programs have greatly accelerated this process, shaping new archetypes to a degree where human consciousness is overshadowed. Murat has developed an AI program where he imports images of his previous works and generates new textured variations. This process results in undefined figures, reminiscent of heroic archetypes found in mythology, video games and manga. His figures emerge from a lava flow, serving as the primary titans of a post-AI world or the last remaining ‘heroes’ slowly turning into dust. Murat sewed patches adorned with sand and fragments of discarded materials on the canvas, and painted them with oil sticks and oil pastels, giving this way a more tangible perspective to his characters.