PAVEL SELDEMIROV
REGWET
PSPROJECTSUBVITALISV01

SUBVITALIS

NAME

SUBTITLEGenerative images that deconstruct cosmic horror and replace its foundations.

2023—
RELEASE
MEDIUM
Digital image series generated with Stable Diffusion. Post-production includes image selection, retouching and upscaling.
PRESENTATION
Online digital series. No physical edition or exhibition documentation exists at this stage.
RECORD
PSPROJECTSUBVITALISV01
COVER / 05592
SELECTED COVERS / 3 SLOTSImage proportions preserved

This project is an experimental exploration using generative AI models that incorporate NSFW content. Through a process of double content encoding, the resulting images convey profound messages while exploring our interconnectedness with the world around us.

At its core, this project is a deconstruction and reimagining of the visual styles popularized by H.R. Giger and the cosmic horror of H.P. Lovecraft. While drawing inspiration from these sources and their influence on philosophical movements like dark ontology (as explored by Timothy Morton and Eugene Thacker), this work aims to subvert and transform their underlying themes.

Where Lovecraft’s work often stemmed from xenophobia, misogyny, and a fear of the unknown, this project seeks to replace these negative foundations with desire, tenderness, pleasure, vitality, love, and life.

The artwork calls for a reevaluation of our relationships with the surrounding world and ourselves, creating an alternative space where the emphasis is not on standard norms and stereotypes but on possibilities for interaction with others.

TWO VIEWS / 004 + 083RELATED SURFACES
004
083
FIG. A / SHARED VALUESCONCEPTUAL DIAGRAM
Values proposed by the projectThree overlapping colour fields group desire and pleasure, tenderness and love, vitality and life. The overlap illustrates coexistence, not quantities or a scientific model.DESIREPLEASURETENDERNESSLOVEVITALITYLIFE
The six values named in the project text. The overlapping fields indicate coexistence, not quantities.
SELECTION / 6 IMAGES

Selected sequence

032
043
049
057
062
073
SOURCE ORDER
032 / 043 / 049
057 / 062 / 073

A unique aspect of this project is the incorporation of numbers placed directly onto the images. This numbering system mimics the approach of an anthropologist studying an alien world, adding a layer of analytical distance and scientific inquiry to the viewing experience. By doing so, the project invites the audience to approach these AI-generated scenes as if they were documenting and cataloging an unknown realm, encouraging a more detached and observational perspective on the intimate and often erotic content.

068
069
072

The project explores ontological setups that often define our perception of the world, such as ontocentrism, theocentrism, teleocentrism, phallocentrism, and phonocentrism. However, instead of building hierarchies on these setups, it proposes new paths of interaction and dialogue based on Spinoza’s ethics and other philosophers continuing his line of thought.

Central to this work is the recognition of the interconnectedness of all beings. As one piece suggests, “We are constantly copulating with the world. It enters us through all our orifices, and we enter it with all our parts.” This visceral imagery serves to emphasize our inextricable entanglement with our environment.

The AI-generated images often contain erotic elements, serving as a natalist practice that emphasizes the potentiality of life and its efficacy. This approach creates an alternative space where the focus shifts from standard norms to possibilities for interaction with others, based on desire, tenderness, pleasure, vitality, love, and life.

FIG. B / REORIENTATIONGROUP → GROUP
Reorienting the terms of relationThe text discusses ontocentrism, theocentrism, teleocentrism, phallocentrism and phonocentrism, then proposes interaction and dialogue. The arrow means a conceptual reorientation of the group, not five pairwise equivalences.ONTOCENTRISMTHEOCENTRISMTELEOCENTRISMPHALLOCENTRISMPHONOCENTRISMINTERACTIONDIALOGUEEQUALITYMUTUAL RESPECTREORIENTTERMS DISCUSSED IN THE TEXTPROPOSED RELATIONSHIPS
A conceptual reading of the text, not a historical timeline or a set of one-to-one correspondences.

Two images

005 + 099Two source images.
One shared view.
005
left image 1 of 2: source 005.
099
right image 2 of 2: source 099.
Separate files.
Original proportions.
Return to this pair.

Rooted in speculative exploration and fiction, this project represents a new movement in contemporary art. It moves beyond saturation with criticism to embrace creativity, allowing for the creation of alternative realities and the exploration of non-violent relationships and dialogue. The artwork invites viewers to immerse themselves in a different world and discover new perspectives on their place within it.

By replacing the transcendent hierarchy often found in Lovecraftian works with an immanent logic inspired by Spinoza, the project emphasizes equality and mutual respect.

Ultimately, this AI-generated art project serves as a journey exploring the boundaries and possibilities of interacting with the world and others. It aims to create a space where respect, love, and life are the foundations of relationships, inviting viewers to reconsider their own interactions with the world around them, all while maintaining the analytical distance of an anthropologist studying an unknown realm.

TWO MORE VIEWS / 075 + 05592POSSIBILITIES
075
05592
ARCHIVE ACCESS

Image index15

15 supplied files in this preview / an excerpt from the larger archive

FILE ORDER · ORIGINAL PROPORTIONSSelection and comparison available inside the index.Series names and image dates are not supplied.
No chronological order is inferred from the filenames.
FIG. C / PRODUCTIONDECLARED OPERATIONS
  1. 01GENERATIVE IMAGE PRODUCTIONStable Diffusion
  2. 02IMAGE SELECTION
  3. 03RETOUCHING
  4. 04UPSCALING
  5. 05ONLINE DIGITAL SERIES
Named production and post-production operations; not a reconstruction of parameters or an exhaustive process log.
ARTIST & CONCEPT
Pavel Seldemirov
GENERATIVE IMAGE PRODUCTION, SELECTION & POST-PRODUCTION
Pavel Seldemirov
ARRIVEDPS / PROJECT / SUBVITALIS / V01
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