Love Stories

Love songs have always been a mode of indirect communication between two individuals in love, particularly in conservative societies where open declarations of love are considered taboo despite the proliferation of love songs on radio, TV and film. These songs were – and still are – used to express devotion under cultural constraints and strict rules of behavior. Love Stories (2022) by Daniah Al Saleh addresses the phenomena of love songs in society; the hidden stories they contain and the sentimental notions they leave in their wake.

Al Saleh has used machine learning to produce a video of “deep fakes” of ordinary people lip-syncing to a curated list of love songs popular in the MENA (Middle East and Northern Africa) region, which is then projected onto a building. These displays of emotion are created by dynamic use video mapping and music; “love words” taken from the song lyrics cascade down, written in English subtitles.

The intention behind displaying this work in public space, using deep fakes that resemble the everyday person, is to enable the audience to immerse themselves in these projected displays of emotion – as well as the sensations they trigger of longing and devotion. Special Thanks go to Bader Alhelelat for Music editing with collaboration of Wall of Sound. Attributes: samples of the following songs have been used exclusively for Noor Riyadh.