When I first encountered Emily Xie’s Memories of Qilin, I was struck by the sense of quiet wonder that emanates from every image. Her work doesn’t shout; it hums. It carries a rhythm that feels ancient yet distinctly digital, as if myth and machine had learned to dream together.

Memories of Qilin belongs to a lineage of works that re-enchant the digital medium. Each of its 1,024 unique outputs is born from the same generative script, yet no two are identical; just as no two memories are. When I first viewed the series on ArtBlocks, I was reminded of ancient silk patterns or woodblock prints rediscovered through a digital lens. Xie’s reference to the mythical qilin - a creature symbolizing prosperity and benevolence in Chinese culture - offered a perfect metaphor for what generative art can be: a bridge between past and future, nature and computation, myth and mathematics.

As the curator of the ABS Digital Art Collection for the season 2023-24, my role has always been to select works that not only demonstrate aesthetic or technical excellence, but also embody the philosophical questions shaping our digital era. Memories of Qilin fits seamlessly within this vision. The ABS collection seeks to document how artists transform code and digital brushes into culture; how they use algorithms not to erase human emotion, but to express it in a new syntax. Xie’s work does exactly that: her algorithm becomes a form of empathy, encoding the intangible textures of memory, diaspora, and identity into patterns that seem to pulse with ancestral rhythm.

On a cultural level, Memories of Qilin reflects the ongoing dialogue between heritage and innovation. As Walter Lippmann once wrote, “Culture is the name for what people are interested in, their thoughts, their models ... their values.” Through her generative process, Xie re-imagines cultural symbols not as static relics, but as evolving entities shaped by the tools of our age. The result is a collection that feels both timeless and futuristic - a conversation between myth and algorithm.

For me, the resonance of this work lies in its empathy. Despite its digital origins, the series invites a very human form of engagement. The images breathe; they invite stillness and contemplation. Each iteration of Memories of Qilin is both unique and connected to a greater whole.

For these reasons, I recommended the acquisition of one piece from Memories of Qilin for the ABS Digital Art Collection. It stands as both an artifact and a dialogue between Emily Xie and her heritage, between algorithm and imagination, and between tradition and the evolving concept of what art can be in the age of computation.

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Jean-Michel Pailhon, Curator of the ABS Digital Art Collection (2023-2024)