An unsolicited digital print hung undetected for several hours on the walls of the National Museum Cardiff in Wales after it was installed by a conceptual artist in the museum’s contemporary art wing. Later revealed to be AI-generated, Elias Marrow’s “Empty Plate” (2024) bamboozled museum visitors and staff alike, as no one could explain its presence. The print emulates an oil portrait of a nondescript young boy in a school uniform, holding a bare plate on his lap with a dour expression. Per the artist’s website, “It is unclear whether [the boy] waits to be fed, punished, or simply forgotten.” In an email to Hyperallergic, Marrow, whose email signature identifies him as “Conceptual Artist. Cultural Surgeon,” said he conceived the premise last year when he made some sketches related to rising hunger and poverty in the United Kingdom and Wales, noting that they’re “subjects close to my heart.” This is a recent installment in Marrow’s continued interventions in museum galleries involvin...