FROM THE EDITOR

What is real, what is not? The truth lies somewhere in between — in the fascia of our minds, hearts and memories.

The truth often does not appear until the layers are excavated and the pain or shock of that is real.

What is real, what is not? The half-day of stunts reserved for the first 12 hours of April now extends to all the time. Artificial intelligence has the ability to make fools of us every moment of the day, every day of the week. We can’t trust our eyes anymore, but could we ever?

Did you see that photo of the Pope going full gangstaangel in a puffer jacket? I stared hard ... WTF? It’s deep-fake, fool! AI said back to me.

The search for the truth can sometimes take our whole lives. In the case of art, it can take centuries. Like Kim Knight’s story in this issue on the restoration of a 400-yearold painting, which reveals some raunchy bits once covered and censored. The story reminds me of the work of artists in World War I (before photographers) that was sanitised — oldschool propaganda — to cover the brutal, bloody truth of war.

I said to my son, manners make the man. He asked what it meant and where did it come from and I said, it’s about real respect, from Shakespearean times ... maybe.

Snap has AI — I’ll ask it. In seconds the answer — a song from the Kingsman soundtrack. AI is wild, he says.

The revolution will not be televised. It’ll be a protest march on social media led by AI.

My daughter is talking about body image online and that gets us talking about how do we know if anyone we look at is as they are, for real?

A mind-bending piece of theatre at the Auckland Arts Festival, The Picture of Dorian Gray, revealed, with dazzling and innovative genius, the relevance of Oscar Wilde today, in language and concept, and it cleverly interwove contemporary references to ego and fakery, as seen on Instagram.

What is real and what is not? Real is the subject of our stunning cover story — Eliza Mccartney. She is interviewed by Joanna Wane. Real is the story of the cricket bat, owned by Kane Williamson, that ended up on the cover of the seminal White Stripes album, Elephant. Real is the deadline I am writing this to. And very real is the fear I will not make it. Real is how someone makes us feel in our very soul. And old, but still real, is what Jane Austen said: We are all fools in love.

Nga mihi nui