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"If a body at times can be a work of art, does the same apply for its separate parts and secretions? Within the surreal imagination of Danish digital creator Lea Brisell, that question certainly gets explored to the fullest. The inventive artist recently returned after a long hiatus with new work criticizing the ongoing World Cup in Qatar. It depicts a football stitched together from patches of hairy skin of different migrant workers, people who literally gave their lives whilst constructing the immense temples of sport worship in slave-like conditions. This work underlines the hypocrisy of a corrupt organization constantly promoting equality, whilst ignoring LGBTQ rights and the basic human cost that creating the biggest ‘show’ on earth has tallied. This sharp satire that marries the macabre with the whimsical can be found throughout the artist’s work, ranging here from an actual human heart substituting a social media one, a bright blue eye omelet and a used tampon rose. If our bodies are our temples, Lea certainly focuses on the less glamorous elements of the corporeal. The realism of the work is at times astounding, when first experiencing her art I was often left wondering if it was image manipulation or a created physical prop I was looking at. Brisell’s background as an art director in advertising often shines through in these fleshy parodies, add a catchy slogan and a logo to her pink backgrounds and one might be confused in thinking that it’s a clever ad we’re looking at. But it’s the subject matters quickly make us realize this certainly isn’t the case, or it would have to be the bizarro world of marketing where the sold lies are forsaken for comically brutal honesty. Her work certainly deserves your many digital hearts or your real one, if you so desire…" "Untitled" (2022) by Lea Brisell https://www.instagram.com/leabrisell/?hl=it

How does an artist create their own urban mythology? The answer might be found when looking through the viewfinder of visual storyteller Summer Grace Wagner. More than just ‘a person with a camera’, this Midwestern based American lenswoman beautifully describes her work as ‘contemplating the spiritual and psychological threads of everyday life and the blur of poetry that is our society's collective dreamscape’. And dream we must when visiting Summer’s world, where its hazy characters and color palette unite to form a hidden reality whose existence exudes imagination. We encounter lost souls connecting through their black mirrors to the metaphysical ‘cloud’, candlelit ceremonies binding bodies in sensual magic, distant lightning channeled by a wandering enchantress and a haunting of split personalities longing to become one. And that’s just the images I’ve chosen to share with you today. Perusing Wagner’s photographs feels like stepping ‘through the looking glass’ into a mirror realm of lost promises and found ghosts. Take special note as well of the carefully crafted composition of the frames, the soulful symmetry of both her models and settings, be it shades of red and green light reflected on foggy waters or an illuminated triangle of flame and flesh. Interesting to note as well is how often the photographer seems to include herself in her work, literally baring her soul and body to her audience, one fragment of painted light at a time. With her tableaux vivants she leaves a story addict like me with plenty of food for thought, the book of Summer filled page to page with wistful legends, both timely and timeless. So join me for a moment in wakeful slumber as we dream the day away through her spellbinding imagery. "Untitled" (2022) by Summer Grace Wagner https://www.summergwagner.com/

As we leave the holy day of fabricated scares behind, are we ready to face the chance that the real terror might lie within us? 3D artist Overfiend certainly helps in visualising just that with this stunning piece titled Inner Fear. The Melbourne based creator aptly labels his work as ‘a primal scream expressed in pixels’, a statement one can definitely feel realised with this work. Here we are shown a naked beauty smiling seductively to the side, an expression in complete contrast to the numerous emotive faces we find hidden away inside her body. Agony, fright and despair are visible on these bodyless heads in an exaggerated but surprisingly affecting way. Even to the point that these countenances, also in their digital rendition, at times feel more detailed and realistic than the shell of the woman that houses them. This underlines a hidden truth that most of us face at some point or other, those moments in our lives and perhaps even more on social media where we portray an idealised version of ourselves in favour of the harsh reality of our actual feelings. The artist in my mind perfectly captures this with this strange mix of absurdity and sensitivity. Take special note as well of the attached close-ups, where these primal emotions of grief and terror are given center stage. Overfiend could find a kindred artistic spirit in the work of Samuel Salcedo, who with stone and resin explores similar themes as our featured creator succeeds in doing with digital flesh and pixelated tears. I certainly invite you to wander into Overfiend’s world of the grotesque and the hauntingly dramatic, but thread lightly, for who knows what inner demons it might unleash. "Inner Fear" (2022) by Overfiend https://www.overfiend.art/

If life were to go extinct on our planet, what would the aftermath look like? One can image that the beautifully bizarre photo series Vertebrata, by post-production wizard Marc De La Cunha Lopes, provides an interpretation. Its title referring to the group of animals that have a spine, the images lead us into a world of lonely, undefined skeletons inhabiting abandoned human settings. The surprisingly softly toned and often bright mood of the lighting enhances both the absurdity and the melancholy of this death-filled realm. We find that almost a reversal has taken place, like we’re witnessing a warped anthropomorphic cartoon. In death, Beast has become man and with that it mimics our longing and boredom. For we find our characters mostly waiting for something to happen, an activity that fills perhaps the largest chunk of our waking lives. Do they anticipate some future salvation that will always come too late, with a satire that combines both smile and tear? On the one hand the images can be looked at as whimsical experiment, on the other as a deepfelt requiem. Placing these remnants of creatures gone in places that we could perfectly find ourselves tomorrow, does really hit home. In death these beings are given the boon of usurping us at the top of the food chain, only to mimic the banality and sadness that pervades our existence. Whatever interpretation you place on the images, one can’t deny the craftsmanship and detail the artist lovingly placed in his compositions and settings. Take special note of the flowery wallpaper, the reflective desks and scratchy sofas. The skeletons themselves are a biological marvel, every joint and rib a triumph. The question is, does art like this make us reflect on the current state of the world, where species are lost by the thousands to humanity’s selfish disregard for any life but its own? And if the end finally does come, will it be with a similar gentleness as shown in these images? Perhaps T.S. Elliot’s words will finally do become prophecy: “This is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper… "Vertebrata" (2011) by Marc De La Cunha Lopes https://www.marcdacunhalopes.com/

Can art help fuel a revolution? From Picasso to Delacroix, artists throughout history have, in times of great turmoil, used their talents to inspire or document political change and terrible injustice. Living once again as we do in a period of global conflict, I wanted to highlight a work that has quickly become synonymous with the struggle of Iranian women and their allies against a brutally repressive regime. Nonetheless, the image itself didn’t originate from the current protests. Photographer Newsha Tavakolian created it as part of her ‘Listen’ series back in 2011, a project highlighting the struggle of female Iranian singers looking to be able to sing solo, an opportunity denied them by the country’s authoritarian system. The artist herself reshared the image on her social media after the senseless death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman that perished in police custody after being picked up for violating the country’s strict Islamic dress code. The tragedy of the image is how, eleven years on, it so easily can be re-used to capture the battle for female independence within Iranian society. The photograph shows a young woman covered from head to toe in black, not a single inch of skin showing besides her defiant face, a striking gaze that no regime can censor. In sharp contrast to the tint of this repressive uniform are the bright red boxing gloves she’s wearing. Standing, ready to fight, in the middle of a deserted street in Teheran, she shows how powerful even a solitary act of protest can be when justified. Tavakolian, a celebrated photojournalist and documentary photographer, was able in this one image to encapsulate Iranian women’s ongoing struggle for equality. As the regime cuts off internet connections and social media access, it’s left to us, the rest of world, to not let their fight be in vain and to be their voice when they are silenced. So please share this and other artworks depicting their revolution, help them realise that they, while facing great odds, are finally being heard. "Untitled" (2021) by Newsha Tavakolian https://www.newshatavakolian.com/

With the rapid evolution of AI driven art, are we witnessing the blossoming of a whole new art movement? When stumbling on the work of artist Xeronimo (also known as ‘Weaving with AI’) I was particularly struck by how intriguing and at times jaw dropping the results of his experiments with the text-to-image AI model Stable Diffusion truly are. I’ve highlighted the work of many AI artists in past editions and am often amazed by the sophistication and emotional resonance that these works contain. This piece, The unbearable lightness of being, named after Milan Kundera’s literary milestone, left me spell-bound by its complex layers of mixed human feeling. The randomness of the process is somehow lost and I sensed a unity of story and sensation that artists have been trying to capture for eons. This type of work I would dub a new form of collage art, as the drawings used in this animation are of course at its base derived from various human artists and their existing work. Xeronimo himself words it perfectly when he states that “artists and styles are the new brushes and palettes”. Detecting a Norman Rockwell here and there to me doesn’t make the whole less valuable, for as with any form of collage art, it has its critics, and a discussion of credit and permission is one that will forever be bound to the art style. I personally have always loved this re-imagining of past creations when done in a respectful manner and like it or not, one can’t deny that this cut-and-pasting of drawn moments doesn’t lessen the original pieces but to the contrary binds them into something that deeply moves the viewer. The work reminded me of the famous Anne Sexton line, ‘I am a collection of dismantled almosts’. We see in black & white a series of ink-colored memories, a life or lives twisted and turning, melting together from birth to death. Seconds of tragedy, of comfort, of loss and yearning fade and are resurrected before our eyes. Ironically, with this work it feels like with the help of AI, we’re somehow given a greater understanding on what it’s really like to live a human life. And isn’t that really at its core what most art is trying to achieve? "The unbearable lightness of being" by Xeronimo https://linktr.ee/xeronimo

What novel ways can digital artists explore the human mystery called ‘love’? For photoshop connoisseur Antoine Paikert, also known under the moniker Esquive Studio, a unique blend of color solarization seems key. The French born, Helsinki based designer mixes a combination of different media with a strong focus on human connections, evidenced by the highlighted work titled ‘And one day, we met’. The placement of these poetic texts become part of his artworks, almost stylizing them as fluorescently tinted, subtly grained vintage posters. The focal point of this piece is the sensual intersection of its two androgynous protagonists. Their literal overlap portrays a romantic ideal, mimicking Plato’s interpretation of two split halves of a soul re-uniting. Isn’t this after all something a lot of us so desperately seek, a bond that surpasses the purely physical and skin deep, something the x-ray feel of the work only seems to underline. Antoine’s pieces create a transcendental and somewhat hallucinatory feel, where personal feelings are graphically translated and dissected. The often-illusive romantic ideal of love has inspired artists throughout the centuries and it’s intriguing to find how digital artists like Paikert keep resurrecting this utopic desire in novel ways. The question of course, as often the case, remains if once such a bond is formed, will the moment of true connection be destined to only remain fleeting? Or, unlike the temporal Romeo and Juliets of the world, can two people finally crack that eternal human enigma and make it last? Perhaps, like all dreams, it will forever be just outside our grasps, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop trying. "And one day, we met" by Esquive Studio https://esquivestudio.com/

Is one of the reasons why we as a society are so fascinated by violence that it’s essentially absurd? This 3D experimentation by self-taught creator Esteban Diacono couldn’t help but make me ponder this. His ‘body’ of work, a collection of morphing and swirling feet, hands and human forms combines the grotesque with a darkly silly sense of humor. And like with this piece, I as a viewer can’t help but be entranced by his parade of beautifully bizarre brainchildren. We witness a life-like human bust, sculpted to rubbery perfection. Donning a peculiar hairnet, the man’s unsuspecting gaze is cast towards us as we see a disembodied fist flying towards his inviting cheek. There’s something almost cartoonesque about the impending punch, a reminder of a collective childhood filled with ‘acme’ sponsored mayhem. When the inevitable blow connects, we’re immediately confronted with the figure’s elastic unreality. No blood or bruise is left as the almost gelatinous skin bounces and twirls, dancing before our eyes. Estaban’s design brilliantly blurs the line between realism and fantasy and as the loop resets over and over, its violent details become even more intriguing. There are always times in our life that we find ourselves hit in the face, unsuspecting, by the grim reality of our existence. And while there’s tragedy in that, it’s fraternal twin comedy is never far behind. This piece, by an artists who prefers not to be labeled as one, opens itself up to many interpretations. As mentioned before, one can also see a statement on our macabre fascination with aggression and pain. Violence is part of our daily life, whether we choose to ignore or embrace it and there’s something inherently silly in that human addiction. As blow after blow hits this imagined man, I could not look away. Can you? "Animated Punch" (2017) by Esteban Diacono https://www.estebandiacono.com/

If you could shape your own reality, what would its landscapes look like? The work of Australian 3D artist Mae (Eniosta) invites us to explore her answer to that question. With its tranquil waters, dancing trees, multicoloured grasses and flower-shaped mountains, she builds a picture of serenity. I wanted to highlight this piece for a number of reasons. First, to (re)introduce you to this artist’s wonderful work, an example of how imaginative minds can literally mould pixels into the foundation of what could be described as a dream. Mae’s oeuvre has the unique power of offering a safe haven from the aggressive violence of earthly existence, an invitation, as she puts it, to escape the chaos of our minds. Perhaps for that reason none of her works are inhabited by creatures or beings, we as the audience have the privilege of being the sole visitor underneath her pinkly tinted skies. But it’s not a lonely journey in these imagined worlds, as its nature feels very much alive, evidenced not in the least by these petal shaped cliffs. Another reason why I felt to highlight this piece, is the message the artist posted when she shared it with her audience on twitter. The sad fact is that she almost didn’t, as she thought it would be something only she herself would like and the viewers wouldn’t. Luckily for us, she overcame that fear of rejection, but it exemplifies the fragility of an artist’s creative process. I think most people don’t realise how frightening it can be to share your work with the world, to open up a piece of your soul to ridicule or indifference. It takes a great deal of courage to overcome that barrier and I often wonder how many artists haven’t explored new ideas or shared interesting pieces, just for the fear of not getting appreciated for it or these days not getting the right number of algorithmically driven likes. It shows how important a supportive environment is and as someone who absolutely loves flower shaped mountains, I wanted to use this platform to share a work that the artist was unsure about but chose to take that leap of faith to make it public anyway. "Flower Mountains" (2022) by Amita Sevellaraja https://www.eniosta.com/

Does art have the power to make us feel like we belong? This was the question I pondered when first experiencing the beautiful illustration Reflections by Malaysian born artist Amita Sevellaraja. Visiting a classical fine art museum can often feel akin to a religious experience, as we’re greeted at almost every turn by depictions of mythology or biblical tales. The angels in the central painting ‘within the painting’ of this piece seem to mimic that sentiment, their wings and halos underlining a link with the spiritually divine. The play of light, with the central piece exuding a symbolic radiance onto its central spectator, seems to highlight a moment of epiphany. The other figures and paintings in the illustration are kept purposely occluded and hidden; our sole focus is to bear witness to a moment of profound connection between one person and a work of art. A love of museums is found throughout Amita’s work, pieces where, in the artist’s own words, conveying emotion through light and color is a priority. She’s without a doubt successful here, as the drawing really hits home with a genuine sense of longing felt from its central figure. We can imagine this lonely woman, wandering a cold and heartless city, seeking refuge from bitter reality in a museum. There, she somehow feels noticed and seen, not by a fellow visitor but by one of the works. I was reminded of the visual illusion of the ubiquitous gaze that sometimes seems to follow us around as painted eyes surround us. But here the character is deeply moved not just amused and it made me think of the importance of art in just allowing us to connect with our common humanity. I often felt like I was the sole person with a certain distinct feeling in the world, that is, until I stumbled on one artwork or another, of some artist somehow expressing a similar sentiment. The beauty of art is that it can make us (re)discover that we, how out of place we might somehow feel, be it for inner or outer traits, someone, even if it’s only one person, will exist out there that feels or has felt the same. "Reflections" by Amita Sevellaraja https://amitaseve.com/

Is an inherent paradox of the digital world that the more easily we connect to others, the more isolated we might feel? Infinite Flux, this meditative loop by artist Jos (Lookattheparkinglot) surreally portrays a seemingly linked but fragmented existence. We see characters bound by what could quite literally be a world wide web, silhouettes that also appear somehow trapped on their own islands in the ‘cloud’. It’s striking how the layered visual language can both paint a picture of togetherness and separation, a duality that feels like the very essence of online communication. One could even see the birds floating from the mosaic tiled ‘stations’ as errant tweets floating through the digital ether. These same tiles, when one takes a closer look, are indeed discovered to be in infinite flux, as we see distinct patterns form and fade on their surface. The tone of the work is mediative and welcoming, enhanced by the soothing rhythm of the artist’s own music accompanying the piece. I love the soft pinks and purples of the pastel tints that are a hallmark of Jos’s universe, where within large dreamscapes natural elements merge with imagined architecture. Every small detail feels meaningful, from the infinity symbol marking the right-side wall, to the white particles travelling like migratory bits and bytes across digital air. I was left with a feeling of hope after experiencing the piece, that maybe, although divided, the seemingly lonesome figures also become somehow strengthened by the chains that bind them. Perhaps, like the work itself, isolation could become more imagined than reality, especially once we realise how intertwined the human experience truly makes us. Jos's work, of which I also recommend pieces like NatureVerse and Gallery Of Eternity, exude a serene beauty whilst tackling ideas and subjects both futuristic and important. A hint of utopia always feels present, something perhaps in short supply in the real world these days. "Infinite Flux" (2022) by Lookattheparkinglot https://www.liinks.co/lookattheparkinglot

If life were a videogame, would it be pixelated? In the world of Florida based E.T. Artist the answer would be a resounding yes. As someone whose been a gamer pretty much his entire life, I’ve always look at pixel art with a nostalgic fondness. It then comes to no surprise that I was drawn to the work of ‘E.T. artist’, whose pieces often portray another love of mine, film, specifically into reworked scenes of iconic cinematic moments from pop culture like ‘Scarface’ or ‘Jurassic Park’. This work, the second of three variations called JPEG Priority is part of a collection aptly called ‘The Burn Club’. Its inspiration was the ‘Travis’ album cover from ‘Rara’, but the artist took the subject matter (a burning Lamborghini) into its own unique direction. We see a scantily clad 16-bit bikini ‘babe’ posing for a selfie in front of the wreckage of a sports car steadily consumed by flames. While the element is clearly satirical, it also wouldn’t be far from a real-life situation, as these days we often see people risking life and limb for that perfect shot to share on social media, indifferent of the consequences to themselves or other people. I really like how the pixelated texture of the work adds to this message somehow, underlining perhaps how absurd these kinds of situations are. One can even take the message of the image further and look at it as a statement on the current state of the planet. As we literally experience the world burning around us, do we take action to put out the fire or do we just look for the self-centered gratification of that one minute of internet fame? Humor often has the power to make us reflect on society and E.T. artist manages to fulfil that potential very well with this series. Even the title can be looked at as a statement, the priority of the JPEG over the priority of our own or others safety. I’d be quite interested in seeing E.T. artist convert his work into an actual video game one day, but then again perhaps the work is best enjoyed in slices of time/life like this one. "JPEG Priority" by E.T. Artist https://etartist.com/