Meet Bernardo, a 27-year-old Brazilian AI artist now based in Berlin. With a background in design, graphic design, and photography at renowned publications like Interview Magazine and Vice Germany, Bernardo's artistic journey has been an exploration of creative independence. Venturing into video editing and AI art, he discovered the freedom to craft visuals without the constraints of traditional mediums. Bernardo's art delves into the mesmerizing and the unsettling, provoking visceral responses. This fusion of dark beauty, fashion, and eerie nature challenges preconceptions of beauty. His work challenges the notion of beauty in the digital age and explores the impact of innovative technologies on art.

Hi Bernardo, can you please introduce yourself?

Hi Donald!
I'm a 27-year Brazillian AI artist and I'm now rebased in Berlin. I'm a design graduate and used to work as a graphic designer and as a photographer right when I arrived in Germany at both Interview Magazine and Vice Germany. Since then I have explored video editing, and AI art, which has given me a lot of freedom and independence.

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Do you use Stable Diffusion, MidJourney, or another tool? Or different mixed media do produce your art?

I have used stable diffusion before, and even though I loved the fact that I could generate images without NSFW filters, I connected with Midjourney because I was able to create with more control. I found ways to produce different content while still having my identity on it. I also explore Runway ML and Premiere Pro a lot, which allows me to come up with other possibilities for the images generated in MJ.

In your fusion of art, fashion, and the eerie beauty of nature, how do you navigate the fine line between the mesmerizing and the unsettling? What draws you to these dark and intriguing combinations?

Art has always been about the impact it has on me after I experience it. I love to watch a movie and can't stop talking about it for weeks, it usually happens when it makes me extremely tense.

I have gone to the extreme with my visuals, exploring skin conditions, bloody scenes, and exceptionally gory visuals. It was important to go through that phase of experimentation to understand where I stand and how I want to go on. I appreciate you managing to see that there is a fine line between unsettling and mesmerizing because I see that as a challenge I've given myself and it's what makes me excited to work. There has been a lot of fear around my images and in the beginning, it was kind of unexpected. Within this past year, I have seen a lot of exaggeration of "beauty" and perfection with AI so it got me wondering what other possibilities there were to it.

Your work seems to provoke a visceral response in viewers. Can you share how your use of AI amplifies the intensity of your visual storytelling and creates a sense of unease, all while retaining an undeniable allure?

When I used to photograph, I was always trying to get an easy and positive response from the audience as I thought that would land me the next job and next month's rent. It never seemed enough, though. Working with other people always made me feel less than, as I wasn't equipped with proper gear or had the freedom I needed at the time. It felt very cruel at times, especially while immigrating and trying to understand a new life. When I found out about DALL-E, I let go of other people's expectations of me and my work. I was later able to dive into my practice and explore without having to meet anyone's needs but myself.

It was so freeing to be able to produce without having to worry if the model looks good, if the client was going to like it, or if it is the right fit for the publication.
I was able to be independent in my craft and that is truly so exciting.
Today, I navigate back and forth with the concept of appreciation, which allows me to go beyond a collective understanding of grace and eventually craft that into a more digestible final image.

There's a striking juxtaposition in your art – the fusion of fashion and the macabre. Could you delve into how this contrast influences your creative process and the emotions you hope to evoke in your audience?

We are living in a digital space that is highly fed up with repetitive content. I spend a lot of time online, so I appreciate it when I'm remembered that I'm alive and actually going through all that massive flux of information. The concept of beauty is in constant adaptation, reflecting the zeitgeist and morphing. In the meantime, the industry exploits it to a point that is unbearable and the cycle starts again. Therefore, I appreciate whoever challenges the comprehension of it, because it's by doing so that we're able to move forward. Ultimately, I value an experience, it's up to the viewer to decide what emotions they will feel afterward. I often think about the impact that "Irreversible" from Gaspar Noé had on me. It was far from a pleasant experience, but it unforgettably crossed me.

Many artists explore the use of AI in their work, but your ability to seamlessly blend it with dark, natural imagery is unique. How do you see the future of AI's role in art and its potential for innovation in the industry?

AI has shown itself a big time stamp in culture. I see a lot of changes shortly, both with the exploitation and improvement of AI but also the complete opposite, motivating us to go back to millennial crafts. In regards to the future of AI, I'm honestly eager to get surprised. Much more than the technology itself, I'm curious to see how the community will use it. In the end, I see it as nothing but a tool, and it's ultimately up to us to be ethical and creative with it.

I crossed a piece the other day talking about AI's future ability to feel and express their sadness, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. In my eyes, feelings are what keep us from being intelligent, so I'm much more interested in how humans use technology to express things that are inherently ours. It's paradoxical how we're always imagining and daydreaming about similar-minded beings like robots or Aliens, even though we still have so much to discuss and settle between us humans.

Scary animals like bats and amphibians often symbolize fear and the unknown. What do you believe your art communicates about the human psyche and our complex relationship with these creatures of the night?

Moving from Brazil to Berlin had a big impact on my perception of nature.

I had never experienced nighttime at 4 p.m. before, and I still have a problem assimilating it. When exploring nature through the lenses of AI, I was very drawn to creatures that live without interacting with sunlight. We're scared of them even though they're a part of our ecosystem like any other. In regards to the psyche, I truly appreciate playing with the lines of what's acceptable and what's not. It all comes down to semiotics and references at the end, I can't control what the viewer is associating it to. A big example of paradoxical semiotics to me is pigeons. I grew up in a religiously chaotic household, while still living with my grandmother. Until then, the white dove was a symbol of peace. Even though they're not native to South America, they're a plague there because when the Portuguese colonized Brazil they brought pigeons along to make cities feel like Europe. It is so clashing to me, how it is such a symbol of divine protection but it's actually indicative of colonization and inballence.

Do you have future projects connecting your vision with fashion?

I just dropped a line of T-shirts out with Transmoderna. It was so fulfilling to see a print come to life and leave the digital space. I hope soon I'm able to make more collaborations and add to my craft other perspectives and possibilities.