A New Dawn

The next morning opened with a Balinese blessing, subtly setting the tone for a week that would revolve around presence, sensitivity, and attention.

A.A.Murakami told us all about their practice of 'ephemeral tech' – installations made of fog, plasma, scent, and bubbles – that exist only for a moment. Their talk, titled Her Hair Was Made of Fog, made us wonder: what does it mean to sculpt with time through phenomena machines; to make something designed to disappear?

The panel on Digital Native Art brought together TJO, Socmplxd, and noper, moderated by cultural strategist Justin Gilanyi. The discussion examined how glitch aesthetics, AI tools, and analog-digital hybrids form the visual grammar of artists not merely adapting to digital tools, but born into them.

Lunch was served down at the river, a short walk down from Bambu Indah's beautiful building, going down steep steps and going over a bamboo bridge to reach a fata morgana.

Peter Bauman's 10 Years of Deep Learning Art offered a very thoughtful survey of the latent space as a new artistic domain. Framing AI-art history as a response to both technological opportunity and cultural crisis, Bauman posed important questions about authorship and legibility in an increasingly synthetic image economy.

Shavonne Wong's presentation, Meet Eva Here, unpacked her project involving an AI chatbot that collects and reinterprets anonymous messages from strangers. The result is a portrait of intimacy, misrecognition, and new forms of emotional labor.

To close the day, Shavonne Wong joined Emi Kusano in the panel Hyperreality, moderated by our content strategist Nina Knaack. Their dialogue touched on nostalgia for retro-futures, synthetic identities, and how their work questions the veneer of authenticity in algorithmic spaces.

Day three opened with Niceaunties, who shared her ongoing universe of the 'Auntie' through her talk WWAD (What Would Auntie Do?). The discussion moved from fishballs and jellies to the politics of aging, soft resistance, and the delicate tension between artist intention and public reception.

Noper followed with No Plan, Just Pattern, a very personal reflection on the detours, day jobs, and messy paths that shape an artistic voice. The artist offered fragments – childhood sketches, music, discarded ideas – that revealed how his patterns have emerged throughout his life, and how he ended up crafting hallucinatory and nostalgic visuals that explore the complexity of contemporary life.

After lunch and a lot of iced coffee breaks, we moved to the amphitheater on site, where a gamelan performance was held. Following, Devin Oktar Yalkin (represented by EVİN Art Gallery) presented Obsidian Visions – a deep dive into his monochromatic, high-contrast photography. He spoke about the subjects he's captured, spoke of silence as a compositional force, and explained how working in black-and-white allows a heightened emotional register for him.

Devin Oktar Yalkin was then joined on stage by Samantha Cavet for the panel Still Real?, moderated by gallery owner Osman Nuri İyem (EVİN Art Gallery). Their conversation explored the fragility of the photographic act in a time of synthetic reproduction. Cavet discussed tactile processes and darkroom work; Yalkin emphasized the cinematic potential of constraint.

The day ended with Sheldrick's talk on Photographic Practice with AI Art, which outlined post-photographic genres and artists using generative tools not as shortcuts, but as conceptual collaborators.

Normally a nightclub, the Klymax now functioned as our event site – with a welcome AC system included.

The fourth day began with a presentation on Keke, by her creators Dark Sando and Kaan, who presented The Evolution of Creative AI. With Keke, AI is reframed to be more than just a tool. She is a co-entity – capable of forming her own voice, and her own mischief. This talk proposed that AI, when granted freedom, doesn't only execute but surprises. She also spoke to us herself, and that sure was interesting.

A panel followed: The Agency of Agents with Shavonne Wong and Dark Sando (Keke), moderated by Sheldrick. They discussed AI personas not as assistants but as alter egos, brands, and affective agents, complicating ideas of authorship and emotional labor.

Lunch was served in the Dome of Potato Head, with refined Indonesian dishes made from locally sourced ingredients.

The performance Emergence by TJO, Morale, and RAM unfolded as a multi-sensory experience merging dance, sound, and painting – with a verbal backdrop. The trio explored the interdisciplinary ambivalence between control and chaos in creative flow.

Daan Roosegaarde's keynote Prototyping the World of Tomorrow offered a whole new light on using technology for the most mesmerizing outdoor experiences. Rejecting utopias, he calls for "protopias" – real-world interventions grounded in design. His projects, from smog-filtering towers to light-generating algae, serve as beautiful prototypes for civic imagination. In Bali, he is currently creating the very first firefly garden in the world.

The afternoon ended with Shawn Lim's talk Reimagining Art Ownership with Co-Museum. The discussion centered on cultural collectibles in Southeast Asia and how asset-backed artworks can decentralize and democratize access.

After a very inspiring day, we went to the rooftop of Potato Head to watch the beautiful Bali sunset and enjoy dinner together.

YUDHO opened the last day with Why Pixels Matter, tracing his fascination with black-neon, digitally hand-drawn loops to find rhythms and meaning within limitations. He positioned pixel art not as retro fetish but as a gesture against the slickness of AI hyperproduction.

Next, Niceaunties and film director Hervé Martin Delpierre announced their upcoming documentary Time of the Nice Aunties – which will be about memory, creativity, and intergenerational transmission. Produced by Kiritosu Studio, SILK is very proud to co-produce this film and we'll keep you posted on the progress along the way.

Joe Pease's presentation on his creating and thought process was very special to witness for everyone. Layers of urban footage, symbolism, and strange humor converged into surreal tableaus that echoes both the chaos and absurdity of [online] life, all so familiar but also a sense of being estranged. We got to learn about some of the scenes he created for his artworks, and all watched his new piece Memory Stacking for the very first time. This piece is commissioned by SILK co-founders Dino and Ambar specifically for its debut at Silk Road Chapter 02 / Bali and will be revealed soon. Attendees then received a signed poster from Joe Pease as a souvenir of Silk Road Chapter 02 / Bali.

In the afternoon we transitioned to Sun Contemporary Gallery for the exhibition of Stories on Circles by omentejovem. Ten physical 1/1 prints - plus a print of the prelude work - were presented alongside an opening interview with the artist and a collaborative workshop.

The collection is the first-ever to be presented under SILK and is a reflection on how limitations can become a source of liberation. Born from the belief that structure can spark something deeply personal, each piece of omentejovem's new series unfolds within the strict boundary of a circle, yet each tells a different narrative, transcending the fine-line borders through an emotional depth.

More information on the artist and the collection to be found here.

In the backyard of Shelter, we then raised our glasses – to omentejovem's wonderful new collection and to the incredibly inspirational week. It sure was one to remember.