@originalmamatangyai
Rebecca Smith Mamatangyai
Artist
In Her Own Words
May 2025
I created the alter ego Mamatangyai as a way to protect myself from judgment, from rejection, and from the deep insecurity I carried about both my body and my art. For a long time, I didn’t believe I was worthy of being seen as I truly am. I worried that if people knew the face and body behind the work, they might not take it seriously, or worse, they might see the same flaws I was trying to hide from myself.
My background as an artist is deeply intertwined with my personal journey through anxiety and depression, and that emotional landscape profoundly shapes my approach to AI art and design. Creating has always been a way for me to process pain, to find softness in struggle, and to reclaim parts of myself that felt fragmented.
When I work with AI, I see it as a co-creator that helps me visually translate emotions I sometimes can’t articulate in words. The prompts I use are often rooted in vulnerability, healing, and body sovereignty which reflect, not just what I’ve lived through, but what I’m still learning to embrace. My work isn’t about perfection; it’s about witnessing and honoring complexity, and AI offers a unique, expansive space for that exploration. It helps me reimagine what healing, softness, and identity can look like, especially for those of us who’ve lived in the margins of our own minds.
“Mamatangyai” became a safe space where I could be bold, unfiltered, and experimental. She was everything I didn’t yet believe I could be: powerful, soft, unashamed. Through her, I found the courage to explore themes that were too painful to approach as just myself; body image, trauma, longing, liberation.
Over time, that mask didn’t feel like a disguise anymore, it became a mirror. Through Mamatangyai, I began to reclaim parts of myself I had silenced. She helped me see that the very things I was hiding, my softness, my scars, and my doubt which were also sources of strength and connection. Eventually, I didn’t need to hide behind Mamatangyai. I could become her.
The AI art community has been a huge source of inspiration and support for me, especially recently when my Instagram account was hacked. What could’ve felt like a major setback turned into a reminder of how generous and connected this community really is. The Muse.ai group even organized a group collaboration in my honor, and the images they created were stunning. It reminded me that AI art isn’t just about the visuals—it’s about the relationships, the shared exploration, and the way we uplift each other through creativity. That kind of solidarity is rare and beautiful.
