The true avant-garde is internal

Sometimes artists approach me for creative guidance.

Sometimes this happens out of frustration with their creative process, sometimes simply to get an outside perspective. In those instances, I try to help them direct their attention towards what matters most.

Quite often, this means leaning more into the parts of their work that requires them to let go of frameworks, reasoning, guardrails. It even means letting go of any preconceived aesthetics and notions of beauty and desireability. Often, what matters most and touches us most is not something that fulfills our expectations, but that subverts them.

In my own processes over the years, in which I’ve had and continue to have the blessing of many wise teachers and guides, I have consistently found those moments the most rewarding and illuminating.

This is why the explorations into AI imagery are so important to me right now. They require me to let go of all knowledge, skill and technique, and simply explore. This means to first go wide – find something that resonates – and then go deep: iterate beyond any reasonable point until the real gems emerge.

“To find a gem that shines in darkness you must venture deep into the cave.”

In that spirit I’d like to share a selection of images that make me uncomfortable, that at times make me want to look away in disgust. Yet they still fascinate me in a way I had probably intuited in myself, but that I have never been able to explore before.

The true avant-garde is internal.

More images on my Facebook page.