Depth

An exploration of nature, art, and technology.

By Juliette Mangon

0-200 meters · Epipelagic Zone

Diving with my father

When I was 11, my father introduced me to his life long passion for scuba diving. He immersed me in the underwater world, where I found comfort in the silence, and a sanctuary of intricate ecosystems to observe.

This project uses Gemini AI to combine his scuba diving photos, with my water related paintings to imagine a world where humans, nature, and technology can coexist.

Hammerhead shark
Hammerhead sharks
Sharks
Shark among fish

What's already here

These are some of the photos my father has taken over years of diving, and the source material behind this project.

Eel Hammerhead shark Shark among fish Sharks Eel Eel Hammerhead sharks Hammerhead sharks Eel Hammerhead sharks Hammerhead sharks Hammerhead sharks

200-1000 meters · Mesopelagic Zone

Photos taken by human, reimagined with AI.

AI water study 1
AI water study 3
AI water study 2
AI water study 3
AI water study 3
AI water study 3

Photos by human, paintings by human,
combined and reimagined with AI.

01 / Cliffs

Cliffs — original painting Painting
Cliffs — AI transformed AI transformed

02 / Swimmers

Swimmers — original painting Painting
Swimmers — AI transformed AI transformed

03 / Poolside

Poolside — original painting Painting
Poolside — AI transformed AI transformed

04 / Seaside, Cascais

Seaside — original painting Painting
Seaside — AI transformed AI transformed

1000-4000 meters · Bathypelagic Zone

Now, let's use our augmented paintings to imagine full scenes of humans, wildlife and technology working in tandem.

AI imagined deep ocean — coexistence
AI imagined deep ocean — technology and reef
AI imagined deep ocean — coexistence
AI imagined deep ocean — technology and reef

4000+ meters · Abyssalpelagic Zone

One world, surface to ocean floor.

Surface Level

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Ocean Floor

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Artist
Statement

When I was 11 years old, my father introduced me to scuba diving. Experiencing underwater wildlife firsthand, I developed a new appreciation for the natural world, and in the following year I became a vegetarian. Now, at 21 years old, my appreciation for the environment shapes how I approach the work I do and the art I create.

This project carries two ideas: experimenting with human-AI collaboration and what it would look like if technology were to grow in favor of the environment.

I started this project because I rarely connect with AI-generated content, and I wanted to understand why. I decided to test what happens when the inputs themselves carry real weight, using my father's underwater photography and my own paintings, rather than relying on elaborate prompting. I fed the material into Gemini in different combinations, layering sources and iterating across rounds. I was surprised to find that the output depended almost entirely on the material itself, rather than on the language I used to prompt it. These pieces are the first time I've felt that AI genuinely added something to an artwork rather than flattening it.

On the other side, I wanted to take an optimistic approach to the conversation around our environment. Rather than showing damage already done, I wanted to highlight the extraordinary life that still exists underwater and imagine what the world could look like if we built with nature in mind.

juliettemangon.com