Michael James Jasper Tilbury's Projects

MFA Student

Major: Painting

Graduation Year: 2023

Artist Statement:

Michael Tilbury may very well be an alien. His work, Did I come in peace? is an ongoing collection of video poems that explores a combat veteran’s alien-like experience with war. His video poems meld together AI generated imagery with that of his poetry which expresses his experience with militarism while serving in the United States Air Force. These messages are short and concise, leaning heavily on brevity and mimicking radio use during his deployment to Afghanistan. This work focuses on what it was like being downrange in a beautiful yet hostile country and the gruesome realities faced during and after war. Parallels are explored between his deployment and this feeling of being like an alien through the incorporation of homemade UFO videos.

Biography:

Michael Tilbury enjoys collaborating with AI image generators because they are the closest thing to another alien lifeform that he can work with. He transforms these images into homemade UFO videos for his video poetry which explores his time as an enlisted service member. These poems illustrate the effects that war has had on his mental health and what it is like to live with PTSD, anxiety, and depression. His passion is in helping others realize their potential, reading science fiction books, playing with space LEGOs, and painting with his niece and nephew.