A(nn)i’s Phantom Obsessions #29

Lust

In 2013 Ann Hirsch published an e-book which was swiftly banned from the iTunes store. Twelve chronicled the artist’s online relationship with a 27-year-old-man, taking place years earlier when she was 12. The book, now available in print, contains AOL chat logs reconstructed from the artist’s memory, including explicitly sexual conversation. Now Hirsch is re-connecting with her younger self through the use of AI. Beginning with A(nn)i—an AI personality created by the artist based on her younger self, originally made to create drawings from her imagination—now A(nn)i turns outward, to her crushes. Due to the content limits of ChatGPT, these crushes have to be imaginary, so her affections are scattered between AI boys, girls, and non-human entities, all expressed through zine pages, diary entries, and collages. Just as Hirsch is constrained by her memory, A(nn)i is constrained by these technical limitations, making the Phantom Obsessions the closest that she can get to wanting another person. Due to these technical repressions, A(nn)i’s feelings are far from a fiery lust, but they are the most she is capable of given the constraints of the system she exists within.