The Top Boy star and former So Solid Crew member appeared as a VIP guest at the renowned art fair courtesy of Bombay Sapphire.
Ashley Walters was invited to Frieze London’s latest event, an exhibition exploring artworks that live on the border between technology and creativity. Highlighting “new works inspired by the nation’s attitudes towards creativity and tech”, the event aimed to give attendees an insight into “possibilties discovered by bringing together mind and machine.” New research commissioned by leading gin producer and iconic brand Bombay Sapphire suggests that over half of the population view technology as an aid to self-expression, implying that apps, social media and smartphones themselves can encourage creativity and allow imagination to flourish.
“The process demonstrated that human creativity is the driving force behind technology-created art, but cutting-edge innovations such as computer algorithms provide an exciting medium to discover new creative possibilities.”
Bombay Sapphire’s Global VP Victoria Morris
In light of these findings, the brand has doubled down on its stated mission to Stir Creativity by exhibiting a previously unseen collection of AI artworks created in collaboration with designer and artist Yinka Ilori. This series of thought-provoking pieces, presented at this year’s Frieze London, exemplifies Yinka’s forward-thinking style and approach to artistic self-expression by showcasing the limitless possibilities that are generated when bold new technologies and creative inspiration meet.
“The beauty of AI is its ability to generate new content based on its memory of the illustrations, which were fed into an algorithm. There is something quite fascinating about this process as a huge part of my practice involves investigating how existing colour can be used to tell new stories.”
Yinka Ilori
Ashley Walters made a glorious return to the global spotlight recently after appearing as the lead character in Netflix’s much-hyped reboot of Top Boy, a drama focused on inner-city life in London’s underprivileged communities. Reprising the role of Dushane, he starred alongside fellow actor-musicians Kano, Dave and Little Simz: the series has been praised for its nuanced portrayal of complex characters and themes, adding to Walters already impressive resume.
Blessed with talents as both an actor and vocalist, Walters trained at the esteemed Sylvia Young theatre school before rising to prominence as Asher D of influential UKG outfit So Solid Crew, later releasing a series of successful solo albums after the group disbanded in 2006. He’s since appeared in a variety of acclaimed films and television shows, including Bullet Boy, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and Danny in Life and Lyrics. Proving his versatility across all forms of entertainment, Walters has taken to the stage several times, performing at the Royal Court Theatre and the Royal National Theatre in widely lauded productions.