MISO is a classical cellist transitioning into a transdisciplinary artist. After years of performing with top UK ensembles like the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, she began exploring new artistic directions through a DYCP Arts Council grant and her MFA studies at Goldsmiths.

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cadeauX presents a series of surreal dinners. 'Plated' on bone china, each dish is accompanied by a corresponding recipe. On closer look, the recipes are not ordinary recipes but recipes reminiscent of 18th century cookbooks written by women of the aristocracy; but this time, showing a glimpse into the life of an AI-wife who instructs her ‘servants’ on how to cook in Stable Diffusion.

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The work began as relational piece that plays with familiar rituals and exchange, bringing new awareness of our roles as givers and receivers in the world. Responding to a guest’s desire to make their own gesture towards the dinner invitation, the artist created a game prompt, suggesting that they ‘bring an ingredient, as a gift, for the next guest who comes to dinner'. The dinner generated more dinners as well as rules to define that guests stay anonymous to each other and the gift is featured in the menu cooked. The dinners are ongoing since January 2024.

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In creating the 'cadeaux exquis' (taking a pun on the Surrealist game that makes bizarre drawings between hidden artists), pairs of gifted ingredients formed prompts for a custom image-making workflow in Stable Diffusion. The book contains the prompts-as-recipes as well as collaborations with chefs (more to come), who write recipes inspired by the images such as the ‘Fennel Pollen and Sugar Kelp Truffle’ recipe by Eddie Shepherd, based on the ‘Kombu, Fennel’ pairing.

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The work explores themes of creativity through collaboration - the workings therein evident when working with AI - as well as feminist techno-science and critical theory of technology.

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