In-conversation | Arlo Mountford: The Art of AI

Artist Arlo Mountford uses generative A.I. in his visual arts practice to create speculative fictions that imagine what might have happened if characters, both historic and fictional, had met and formed relationships. In his ongoing series, Doubling Down, these encounters become photographic ‘memories’ and along with their accompanying diary entries and family histories blur the line between truth and invention.

Author Rhett Davis speaks with Arlo about how A.I. can be used as a creative tool, how it reshapes our sense of history, and what it means to manipulate technology in order to comment on the stories we inherit and the ones we fabricate.

Arlo Mountford is a finalist in the 2026 National Photography Prize, and a selection of the series Doubling Down will be on display at MAMA until 22 November.

Arlo Mountford is an artist best known for large-scale installations combining sound, video, and digital animation. Working across animated films, object-based work, drawings, photography and digital image making he creates complex, multi-layered narratives that traverse art history, weaving together iconic artists, landmark artworks, and key historical moments alongside pop culture references. His practice is characterised by a distinctive blend of humour and irony, offering a critical and playful re-examination of history and its relationship with contemporary visual culture.

Rhett Davis is the author of Arborescence, a novel about what trees might do if we weren’t careful. His first novel, Hovering, won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript and was shortlisted for the Readings New Australian Fiction Prize and the Aurealis Award for Science Fiction. Rhett lives, works and writes mostly on Wadawurrung land in Geelong.