Surreal 100: Fairyland

Welcome to Fairyland, an ethereal garden of hallucinatory shapes and colors, filled with hidden secrets and enigmatic lifeforms. Immerse yourself in the abstract streams of glowing paint and surrender to the excess of colors, which overwhelm and blur your senses. As your focus gradually sharpens, notice the miniature life flourishing in this jungle of hues: the whispers of the flowers, the harlequins cleverly playing tricks, and above all, the mysterious fairies fluttering around, part insect, part human in their genesis.

This ’Surreal 100’ series piece builds on an abstract foundation, suggesting the emergence of details and characters as if called forth by the shapes themselves. The workflow is inspired by classic surrealist techniques such as frottage and decalcomania.

One of the most fascinating surrealist techniques was called ’Frottage,’ originally developed by Max Ernst. This method involves placing a piece of paper over a textured surface and then rubbing a pencil or crayon over it to create textures and forms that could later be elaborated into an image. The idea was to provide the mind with serendipitous random visuals to stimulate the creative flow of the subconscious.

Decalcomania was another technique based on a similar idea. It involved spreading thick paint on a canvas and then, while it was still wet, pressing a second canvas against it. After separating the two canvases, the resulting patterns would reveal unexpected textures and forms, once again serving to spark creativity.

‘Exquisite Corpse’ was a creative game played by the surrealists, which may remind you of similar games from your childhood. This collaborative approach to drawing involved several artists contributing to a single piece without seeing the additions made by others. A piece of paper would be folded such that each participant could only view the segment added by the previous person. The unpredictable results, often a composite of disjointed or fantastical images, exemplified the surrealists’ delight in spontaneity and the unexpected.

In Fairyland, I took a similar approach using generative AI to fuel creative thought. The abstract forms serving as the foundation of the images were generated by AI, embracing its inherent randomness. Following this initial phase, I engaged with the images in a more intentional way, incorporating details and characters, harmonizing color schemes, and crafting a theme to construct a visual narrative. Often, even an addition of a minor detail could completely alter the interpretation of the image.

The ’Surreal 100’ series celebrates a century of Surrealism (1924-2024), demonstrating how surrealist techniques and ideas can be enhanced in the era of generative AI. To continue the journey, explore the preceding chapter of the series, “Surreal 100: Never Quit Dreaming”.