Artist Envisions Dearly-Departed Celebrities As If They Were Alive Today With AI
Images by Alper Yesiltas and featured with permission
Too many stars have had their light extinguished too soon. That tinge of sadness looking at album artwork or a magazine cover and seeing a celebrity whose life was cut short never goes away.
You’ve been warned about how artificial intelligence can be used for the wrong reasons. Turkish lawyer and photographer Alper Yesiltas, however, sees its possibilities. Amazed by its potential, he asked himself how he could find positivity by harnessing the power of machine learning. Then, the idea struck: He’d be able to meet the people he missed—nothing would make him happier.
In a series called As If Nothing Happened, Yesiltas portrays long-gone pop-culture icons—from Princess Diana to Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Freddie Mercury, John Lennon, and Paul Walker—at their real ages today.
As if no time was lost. As if there were no tragedy.
The artist combined a number of AI-powered software like photo restorer Remini, Adobe Lightroom, and VSCO to create his hyperrealistic portraits, according to My Modern Met. Steering from the one-click process often associated with AI imaging tools, though, Yesiltas puts care into his reworkings. Each image requires a unique set of enhancements and amount of time.
The results are more than worth it, and the stars are captured such that it looks like they’ve only recently had their pictures taken.
Reconnect with some of your favorite actors and musicians in the reimagined works below. Be sure to follow Alper Yesiltas on Instagram to follow this poignant ongoing project.
Michael Jackson at age 64
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Image by Alper Yesiltas and featured with permission
Princess Diana at age 61
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Image by Alper Yesiltas and featured with permission
Selena at age 51
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Image by Alper Yesiltas and featured with permission
Heath Ledger at age 43
Image by Alper Yesiltas and featured with permission
Freddie Mercury at age 77
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Image by Alper Yesiltas and featured with permission
Amy Winehouse at age 38
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Image by Alper Yesiltas and featured with permission
Paul Walker at age 48
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Image by Alper Yesiltas and featured with permission
River Phoenix at age 52
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Image by Alper Yesiltas and featured with permission
The Beatles, including the late John Lennon (imagined at age 82) and George Harrison (imagined at age 79)
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Image by Alper Yesiltas and featured with permission
Tupac Shakur at age 51
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Image by Alper Yesiltas and featured with permission
[via BuzzFeed and My Modern Met, images by Alper Yesiltas and featured with permission]
