Jarvinart: Bridging Realities

The first artwork of “Bridging Realities”—titled Nightdrive—reflects Jarvinart at her best. Building upon her dystopian cyberpunk influences, the work portrays a neon-lit commercial district at the lowest level of the city. The atmosphere is palpable. A heavy haze rolls through the towering buildings, giving every light an entrancing flare.

In the detailing, Jarvinart’s distinct background in architecture and environmental work shines through. Every structure feels authentic, with a natural flow of human life that gives the piece its pulse. The asphalt glimmers with remnants of heavy rain, furthering the illusion of a world that exists in its own time and space outside of us. 

Nightdrive debuted on Jarvinart’s social media earlier this year to a thrilling reception. “I shared it, and I got really good feedback from [the community]. I think it’s my most favorited, most liked tweet ever,” Jarvinart explains. For such an impactful work, she wanted to ensure it had an equally exciting release: “I just kept it [for months]. I was waiting for a special occasion.” 

Manual Labor, a new artwork created specifically for this release, was designed to pair with Nightdrive. Experimenting with her style, it represents a departure from her usual subjects: “The second piece is unique for me because it’s from an interior scene. I haven’t done that kind of work before, or at least, didn’t release it.” 

Whereas most of Jarvinart’s work keeps the viewer at a distance to take in the scale of her creations, Manual Labor captures a much more intimate setting. We’re left alone to watch as an AI-controlled robot engages in the act of artistic creation.

 “The room is a workshop… and you see that the AI—the robot—is training itself by using the landscape outside. So the prompt [it’s been given] is the real life that it sees outside the window… the Nightdrive cityscape.”

In reality, the Nightdrive artwork wasn’t created using any AI. But in Manual Labor, the variations of Nightdrive depicted are indeed computer generated: “To create those images on the computer screens, I fed the AI with my work—with Nightdrive—and generated some variations of it.” As a way of grappling with this technology which many artists find concerning, Jarvinart chose to infuse it into her work. “I also created some stickers, some little textures with Midjourney and DALL-E,” she notes. The finished piece is electrifying, feeling deeply personal despite its inhuman subject. With its release, one of the most exciting artists in the space has uncovered a new path forward. 

“And this was kind of a personal breakthrough for me… just using AI a little bit in my workflow, slowly adapting to that technology.”