Michael Christopher Brown, 90 Miles - 136
For over 25 years, I kept a list of subjects I wanted to document but was unable to, largely due to access. I was inspired to create 90 Miles in the tradition of reportage illustration, in 2023, when the general public gained the ability to collaborate with a collective history of photography in order to create photorealistic visions of what was, is or can be.
90 Miles is an AI reporting illustration experiment exploring the decades long story of Cuban’s crossing the 90 miles of ocean separating Havana from Florida. The imagery speaks to the Cuban realities and historical events that motivated Cubans to escape, mostly via homemade watercraft of some kind. I learned of this journey of escape over many years, watching TV and reading newspapers while growing up in America.
While working in Cuba from 2014-2016, I attempted to document the story but realized that any coverage might risk endangering Cubans who remained in the country. There was just no safe and ethical way for me to either access or document this story. I gathered the AI prompts from past conversations with Cubans while working in Cuba, from my life long exposure to the story and through online research.
The work is based on true stories but is, of course, not real. This story begins following the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis, when Cuba experienced dramatic political and economical changes. The imagery documents the time period from Fidel Castro’s rise to power in the late 1950s until the present.
https://www.michaelchristopherbrown.com
This exhibition is presented as part of Press the Shutter, Type the Prompt: Photography & Truth in Times of AI, organised by Goran Gaber, Andrew Cusworth, and Anne-Sophie Gabillas within the Channels of Digital Scholarship initiative by the Maison Française d’Oxford and Digital Scholarship @Oxford. It brings together international artists who explore generative AI as a tool, a narrative device, a critical lens, and a poetic medium — revealing fresh possibilities at the intersection of art, technology, and storytelling.
https://mfo.web.ox.ac.uk
https://digitalscholarship.web.ox.ac.uk
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Michael Christopher Brown is a photographer, filmmaker, and author. Above all, he is an artist and storyteller who passionately explores the human experience through all mediums, including artificial intelligence. A former photographer at Magnum Photos, he has worked as a National Geographic Photographer since 2004. His current creative projects include a book collaboration with Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha in order to raise money for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and their ongoing efforts in the Gaza war. He speaks at institutions, festivals, and organizations worldwide, offering personal insights and lessons from the frontlines of human experience.
michael christopher brown
90 miles
Maison Française d’Oxford
2-10 Norham Rd, Oxford,
OX2 6SE
25 October–
5 December
25 October–5 December
Monday–Friday 9am–5pm
Saturday 25 October,
8 November,
22 November 1pm–5pm
Opening Event
Tuesday 4 November
