Boris Eldagsen investigates the unconscious mind, using archetypes and symbolic acts, which speaks the language of the unconscious and communicates on a dreamlike level. His psychological and poetic approach transports the viewer between the sublime and the uncanny – where the attributes of photography, painting, theatre and film unite. Boris was previously a photographer, but since 2022, his focus has moved to AI-generated imagery. Instead of copying his previously developed photographic visual language, he explores new avenues for image making that were not previously possible as a photographic artist. With the help of AI, he draws freely on his imagination and incorporates his experiences as an artist into what he terms as ‘promptography’. Although diffusion models have replaced the camera, his artistic focus remains on the human psyche, using AI training models to mirror humanity and the collective unconscious. 

 

"With his decades-long experience in photography, Eldagsen saw an opportunity to make images without shooting on location. His works show men and women from the 1940s with unusual twists in the subject matter – cables, intestines, and strings form part of the image, sometimes breaking into the third dimension to challenge our perceptions of black and white photography."
Excerpt from Post-Photography: The Uncanny Valley, an Essay by Luba Elliott