The Return of the Beautiful [artistic research, publication], 2025
The Return of the Beautiful is a transcript of a dialogue between a human (marked as “i”) and an artificial intelligence model (marked as “ai”). It is an intimate conversation that explores the notion of beauty in contemporary society—particularly its relationship to unbeauty, commerce, and control.
The dramaturgical axis of this autoethnographic piece lies in (i)’s searchings, doubts, and expectations related to artistic research—its theme and form. (i) seeks direction, proposes various ideas (photography, installations, performances, texts), and fights with internal contradictions, the influence of consumer culture, and the fear of being misunderstood or not original enough.
(ai) functions as a guide, a mentor, a simulation of a sociology professor, or simply an intelligent conversational partner. She helps (i) structure thoughts, offers theoretical contexts, poses questions, encourages reflection, and sometimes suggests specific directions for development or even creative forms of expression.
This text is a non-linear, living documentation of a creative and intellectual search, interweaving personal experience, introspection, artistic intent, semantic tensions, and social critique. Throughout the conversation, theoretical reflections are interwoven with concrete artistic gestures and emotional states. Though (i) sometimes feels stuck, the dialogue helps clarify questions and find direction—not by reaching a definitive answer to what beauty is, but by examining the very mechanism of how it operates as a form of control. It opens the possibility of experiencing beauty authentically, outside of the system—through attention to what is uncomfortable, boring, or simply there.
The dramaturgical axis of this autoethnographic piece lies in (i)’s searchings, doubts, and expectations related to artistic research—its theme and form. (i) seeks direction, proposes various ideas (photography, installations, performances, texts), and fights with internal contradictions, the influence of consumer culture, and the fear of being misunderstood or not original enough.
(ai) functions as a guide, a mentor, a simulation of a sociology professor, or simply an intelligent conversational partner. She helps (i) structure thoughts, offers theoretical contexts, poses questions, encourages reflection, and sometimes suggests specific directions for development or even creative forms of expression.
This text is a non-linear, living documentation of a creative and intellectual search, interweaving personal experience, introspection, artistic intent, semantic tensions, and social critique. Throughout the conversation, theoretical reflections are interwoven with concrete artistic gestures and emotional states. Though (i) sometimes feels stuck, the dialogue helps clarify questions and find direction—not by reaching a definitive answer to what beauty is, but by examining the very mechanism of how it operates as a form of control. It opens the possibility of experiencing beauty authentically, outside of the system—through attention to what is uncomfortable, boring, or simply there.
1 on 1 [interactive installation], 2025
A meta-illusion of efficiency. A side effect that surfaced in a dialogue between (i) and (ai), while circling around the notion of beauty today. How does it work? Who decided it? Why do I urge for it? Is it possible to experience it outside a system that turns everything into content? It speaks of value, consumption, and the desire to create without a filter. The text The Return of the Beautiful documents the process of artistic research: sometimes it feels like therapy, sometimes – a philosophical experiment. Or perhaps it’s an attempt to stay with the questions without reaching for ready-made answers. If beauty does return, it’s not as form – but as a condition, when there’s no need to pretend, only to be. 1 on 1.
A meta-illusion of efficiency. A side effect that surfaced in a dialogue between (i) and (ai), while circling around the notion of beauty today. How does it work? Who decided it? Why do I urge for it? Is it possible to experience it outside a system that turns everything into content? It speaks of value, consumption, and the desire to create without a filter. The text The Return of the Beautiful documents the process of artistic research: sometimes it feels like therapy, sometimes – a philosophical experiment. Or perhaps it’s an attempt to stay with the questions without reaching for ready-made answers. If beauty does return, it’s not as form – but as a condition, when there’s no need to pretend, only to be. 1 on 1.
Exhibition view at Prospekto gallery, VDA FAMM MA graduation show "Head to the wall", Vilnius 2025.
Photo documentation by Laurynas Skeisgiela
Photo documentation by Laurynas Skeisgiela