Kaya Matsunaga

Kaya Matsunaga is a 16-year-old visual artist living in Illinois and a rising junior at Glenbrook North High School. Her work spans narrative illustration, animation, and conceptual design, exploring themes of memory, identity, and mental health. Through her work, Kaya hopes to create immersive and meaningful experiences that encourage reflection and conversation through the intersection of art and technology.

Memory as Code

Memory as Code is an interactive digital museum that explores the relationship between artificial intelligence, memory, and human experience. Visitors step into the role of an AI, interpreting a gallery of personal artworks using only visual information before uncovering the memories and stories behind them. As the exhibition continues, the viewers are invited to reflect on the roles of authenticity, memory, and emotion in the creative process. The project reveals the limitations of machine perception, questioning whether memories can ever be translated into data or if their true meaning exists only through lived experience.

Process Images