The Barn

We’ve become very interested in the idea of contemporary artists retreating from the internet so their work isn't absorbed and reproduced by AI. We couldn't find anyone taking this step (yet!), so we decided to make up a story to pursue the question ourselves.

Ben Nabors collaborated with Henry Hargreaves and NothingBoring.ai to produce it. The process of using AI tools for the first time to illustrate a story about running away from those same AI tools was genuinely strange, and a little cathartic. Also, we loved it!

SYNOPSIS // For fifty years, Eric Derringer made art that held a mirror to the human experience. But when AI arrived, he withdrew completely, and refused to let his work be digitized, filmed, or recorded. Now he's back with a single monumental work that can only be experienced in person — no photos, no footage, no exceptions — and a desperate local news cameraman sees it as the opportunity of a lifetime.

TOOLS // Midjourney v8, NanoBanana Pro, Higgsfield, Seedance 2.0