Kate Bush has drawn parallels between the work of French Impressionist painter Claude Monet and artificial intelligence in her latest Christmas message.
In the message, published on Bush's website, the singer reveals that she visited the Monet exhibition London: Views of the Thames, which is currently running at the The Courtauld Gallery in central London. The exhibition, which closes on January 19, includes a number of paintings begun between 1899 and 1901, on three separate visits to the city.
"It made me smile to read that although he sketched them while he was in London, he took them home and finished them off in France," writes Bush. "Ha ha! So all is not as it seems – that sun-starved pink was actually lavish Giverny pink.
"Is that us? Standing in awe at the dawn of AI, the symbol of modernity, as smog was for Monet at that time in the newly industrial London? Do we only see the twinkling light of the new invention, which so often catches the eye of our imagination… and what are those vague, dark sardonic shapes we can see in the background, behind the theatrical gauze?
"It’s hard to make them out, but could they be our human pods, like those from the Matrix, being readied for us by eager, playful digits? Or maybe they are freshly painted bridges – robust, and lovingly built to carry us all into a much longed-for new age of healthy thinking?"
In typically cryptic fashion, Bush ends by saying, "All will be revealed when the smog begins to clear."
Elsewhere in her message, Bush thanks fans for their reaction to the short animated film she launched earlier this year. The four-minute Little Shrew (Snowflake) was soundtracked by a new edit of Snowflake, which originally appeared on the Bush's 2011 album 50 Words For Snow, and was released in support of War Child, the charity that raises money to support children in conflict-affected areas.
"It’s been really exciting to see the wonderfully positive feedback to the Little Shrew animation," says Bush. "Thank you so much to all of you who made a donation to War Child. They have been absolutely delighted with the response."
Speaking with the BBC's Today programme when The Little Shrew was launched in October, Bush hinted that new music might be on the horizon.
"I’ve been caught up doing a lot of archive work over the last few years, redesigning our website, putting a lyric book together," she said. "I’m very keen to start working on a new album when I’ve got this finished. I’ve got lots of ideas and I’m really looking forward to getting back into that creative space. It’s been a long time."
