London's contemporary art scene is witnessing a provocative new exhibition that merges artificial intelligence with scatological humour to deliver a powerful feminist statement. Iranian-born US artist Tala Madani presents Daughter BWASM at Pilar Corrias gallery, marking one of the first major London shows to use AI as both artistic tool and subject matter.
Shit Mom Meets AI Perfection
The exhibition introduces a compelling dynamic between Madani's established character, Shit Mom, and her newly adopted AI daughter. The title Daughter BWASM stands for 'Born Without a Shit Mom', immediately establishing the central tension between imperfect humanity and machine perfection.
Across multiple canvases, Madani explores how Shit Mom's care inevitably taints her pristine robotic child. The gleaming mechanical daughter becomes progressively smeared with filthy brown marks as her mother attempts to nurture her. This visual metaphor powerfully illustrates how perfection becomes corrupted through human interaction and maternal influence.
Technical Innovation Meets Traditional Painting
Madani's technique combines cutting-edge technology with traditional painting methods. She begins with ultra-precise screen prints of AI-generated robots, then overlays them with loose, expressive brown brushstrokes. The resulting works are simultaneously glittery and gross, precise and messy.
In one striking piece, two neat pink and orange robots appear pregnant with large, gloopy brown bumps. Another shows Shit Mom kneeling before her enormous mechanoid child, desperately trying to clean her while only succeeding in covering her in what resembles excrement. The overall aesthetic recalls sci-fi films like I, Robot or Ex Machina, but transformed through Madani's distinctive scatological lens.
Historical Context and Cultural Critique
Madani cleverly connects contemporary technology concerns with historical art movements. The exhibition title references Francis Picabia's 1916 painting Daughter Born Without a Mother, while compositions repeatedly nod to Marcel Duchamp's iconic Nude Descending a Staircase.
Through these references, Madani traces how culture has historically treated women as mechanical automatons for childbirth and care. The exhibition poses challenging questions about why machines are often gendered female and why cinematic robots frequently appear as 'hot babes'.
The show also includes two animated films that expand on these themes. One inserts Shit Mom into Eadweard Muybridge's experimental vignettes of nude women, smearing the objectified perfection of early cinematic experimentation. The other shows Shit Mom endlessly ascending staircases, though these film works feel somewhat less compelling than the powerful paintings.
Tala Madani: Daughter BWASM continues at Pilar Corrias, London until 17 January. The exhibition represents a significant moment in contemporary art's engagement with artificial intelligence while maintaining Madani's signature approach of using childish, confrontational imagery to deliver sophisticated cultural critique.
