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Sebastian Elborn

Sebastian Elborn is a multimedia artist, specialising in digital media.

Sebastian Elborn is an interdisciplinary artist examining identities beyond binary categories: man or woman, Man or machine, and human or Other. His work explores the similarities between the Othering of aliens and androids (sub-humans) in sci-fi, and the experience of alienation of transgender people.

He explores reclaiming the space outside the human, questioning the performativity of gender, and of the human. Sebastian queers reality through creating post-screen installations, where the audience encounters abstract forms which do not replicate reality or reproduce societal norms. The pieces are unbelonging and yet exist, thus proving categories of classification fall short. By using AI-generated elements, he examines authorship, posthuman bodily extensions, and unbecoming human.


Justin Ross Curator

Justin Ross
Curator

Sebastian Elborn’s multimedia installations and video works are at once transformative and transportative, carrying spectators gently away to far off places while asking us to reimagine how we live today. 

The video installation Exoplanet j1407b stands out for its willingness to engage with new technologies such as AI-assisted machine learning in pursuit of a nuanced way to approach themes of posthumanism and trans-identities. The way that the video has been modified to cast rings of light references planetary systems outside our solar system and inspires us to speculate on a distant future where intergalactic travel is possible. 

Crucially, this work takes video generated by the AI system as a sort of raw material, a base from which to build on rather than relying purely on the newness of a new media for spectacle. As a form of co-authorship, the technology here is made to enhance, amplify, and assist in executing a creative vision, a vision of the future.”


ArtConnect asked the winning artists to share with us a glimpse into their creative life to get a sense of their personal inspiration and artistic process.


What are some of the central themes you pursue in your work?

My work explores themes of authorship with AI-generated elements, queer and trans identities represented in science fiction androids, and posthumanism.

How has your art practice developed over time?

I started as a painter focusing on the digital sublime, and through my research, my practice evolved into working with technology and examining my own identity.

Sebastian’s Workspace

Sebastian’s Workspace

What drew you to work with your medium/media of choice?

My practice has shifted from works that focus on a flat image, or representation of something, to focusing on creating an experience, or an encounter with art.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as an artist?

I frequently shift mediums within my practice so that my concepts can be fully realized, this can be challenging at the start as it requires me to constantly learn new skills and take material risks.

Sebastian Elborn in Studio

Sebastian Elborn in Studio

 

Describe a typical day in the studio/wherever you make your work.

My work starts by training AI to produce its own images inspired by the research I feed it. I then create videos from these images, sometimes influencing their aesthetic with coding or editing, and finally I create an installation, onto which I project the videos. These installations can be fairly simple, such as hanging dust sheets, or they can be more complex, using sculptural elements that I make.

What future directions do you envision for your work?

I hope that my work will continue to evolve with my research and that my practice will expand to new mediums. I would like for my work to explore site-specificity more, and experiment with larger-scale installations.

 

See more of Sebastian Elborn’s work

ArtConnect Profile | Portfolio | Instagram

 

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