Ursula by Hannah Whitaker

Assembly presents Ursula by Hannah Whitaker. Inspired by science fiction tropes like digital servants and sex robots gendered as female, this project playfully critiques how the male gaze has created “female” service-oriented machines even in the AI assistants that many of us employ in our daily lives. These straight studio shots are mostly of the artist’s friend who becomes “Ursula,” named after the most famous Ursulas— the Sea Witch in the Little Mermaid, feminist sci-fi writer, Ursula K. Le Guin, and sex symbol Ursula Andress. At once retro and futuristic, these photographs reflect the vernacular of the tech industry and the stereotypical “women” that this male-dominated space creates. Th...View all