For over 25 years, I kept a list of subjects I wanted to document but could not, largely because of access restrictions. In 2023, when the general public gained the ability to collaborate with a collective history of photography to create photorealistic visions of what was, is, or could be, I was inspired to launch 90 Miles in the tradition of reportage illustration.
90 Miles is an AI reportage illustration experiment that explores the decades-long story of Cubans crossing the 90 miles of ocean separating Havana from Florida. The imagery speaks to Cuban realities and historical events that drove many to escape — most often in makeshift, homemade watercraft. I first learned about these perilous journeys while growing up in America, watching television and reading newspapers.
Between 2014 and 2016, while working in Cuba, I tried to document the story directly. But I soon realized that any attempt at coverage might endanger those who remained in the country. There was no safe or ethical way to access or record these experiences. The prompts that generated this body of work therefore come from past conversations with Cubans during my time on the island, from a lifelong exposure to these narratives, and from subsequent online research.
The work is based on true stories but does not claim to be real. It begins in the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis, when Cuba underwent dramatic political and economic change, and spans from Fidel Castro’s rise to power in the late 1950s to the present day.
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://www.michaelchristopherbrown.com
Exhibition on view: 25 October – 5 December
Maison Française d’Oxford
Opening hours:
Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm
Sat 25 Oct, Sat 8 Nov & Sat 22 Nov, 1–5pm
