Even though AI has become a reliant resource in our society today, there is an evolving relationship between mankind and this tool, which explores human creativity and machine intelligence.
In an effort to dive deeper into this concept, Singapore-based creative director and image-maker Walter Tan, is back with DREAMLAND: THE FACTORY, a new mixed-media exhibition at Raffles City from 7 to 23 August 2026, that explores a new way of constructing images across physical and digital worlds in the age of AI.
Image courtesy of Walter Tan.
This exhibition is a continuation of Walter’s 2023 debut Dreamland, and shifts the focus away from the finished image towards the systems, decisions, and tools that now shape how images are made — one where human vision and machine intelligence increasingly intersect.
Presenting a layered approach to visual creation, the exhibition blends photography with physical materials, sculptural interventions, and AI-assisted exploration that are constructed through tactile processes such as paper craft, material layering, and set-building, including digital experimentation, which reflects a hybrid methodology that bridges the physical and virtual.
Screenshots courtesy of Walter Tan.
As it is structured as a conceptual “factory” for ideas, you are invited into the mechanics of creation itself. Instead of presenting a high volume of works, the exhibition has intentionally limited the display to eight standalone pieces, each created as a collectable object with its own visual language and material presence.
Some of the selected works are also accompanied by behind-the-scenes materials that include sketches, drafts and material studies, offering you insight into the progression from concept to final image.
Two of these works will feature notable personalities as well, namely Singaporean actress, filmmaker and entrepreneur Jeanette Aw, and Thai fashion personality, luxury collector, and cultural tastemaker Aon Somrutai.
