2+2_2,222_22_Toulouse, 2022 | Digital painting | 6500 x 5000 pixels | 300 DPI | JPEG

2+2_2,222_22_Toulouse, 2022 #21/25

Zeus and Ganymede on a VR date, 2023 | Digital collage | 5906  x 8268 pixels | 300 DPI | JPEG

In Greek mythology, Zeus often abducted mortals without their consent, and these abductions were typically presented as romantic or sexual in nature. A Phoenician princess called Europa. The wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta, Leda. A mortal priestess called Io. A nymph under the name of Callisto. A mortal king known as Tantalus. And many more… But the story of Ganymede was somehow different, because he was never punished after the affair, but rather rewarded.

For centuries, Hebe (the goddess of youth), daughter of Zeus (the sky, thunder god and king of the gods) and Hera (the goddess of marriage, women and family), was the cup-bearer of Mount Olympus during the heavenly feasts. She was in charge of serving nectar and ambrosia, beverage and food that conferred immortality upon whoever consumed them.

One day, by accident, Hebe tripped, and knocked all the sacred drink down. And even though most gods around her laughed about it, Zeus didn’t find that funny at all and, full on rage, decided to strip her from the role as the servant of gods and dismiss her forever.

Hera was immediately angered by the news that Hebe would no longer serve the nectar and the ambrosia, and told her husband she hoped this wasn’t a premeditated move to replace Hebe with one of his mistresses. Zeus then assured his wife that no woman would ever take the place of Hebe. For that reason, Zeus decided to start paying attention to men, looking for someone capable of filling the open spot.

He shortly spotted Ganymede (the prince of Troy), son Tros of Dardania and Callirrhoe (the kings of Troy), who was assisting the herding of the royal herds on Mount Ida in Phrygia. Ganymede had an unparalleled beauty. It’s possible that a mortal as beautiful as Ganymede never existed. So Zeus decided that someone with such beauty had not been conceived to live among men, and the presence of such preciousness would enrich even more the gods’ coven. With that being the case, the supreme god took the form of an eagle and went down to abduct the beautiful boy.

The eagle flew over the youngster without being noticed and grabbed Ganymede, taking him by surprise. The young guy was gently carried by the divine bird to the top of the Olympus, where the gods’ coven was located. Ganymede was now facing gods of the Olympus, who were impressed with such beauty. Zeus introduced him as Hebe’s replacement, and he then became the cup-bearer and cup-carrier during the celestial banquets. In return, he was offered immortality, and so he’d keep his youthful beauty forever.

Quickly, Ganymede was highly regarded by the gods, who valued the excellent service provided by the young man. All but the goddess Hera, who was jealous of the lengthy periods that Zeus spent with the beautiful boy, who was suspected to have become Zeus’ lover.

But what if Ganymede had voluntarily requested Zeus to abduct him because his mortal life in Troy wasn't enough for him?

What if Ganymede had voluntarily requested Zeus to abduct him because he was deeply in love with the God of Thunder?
 

Zeus and Ganymede on a VR date

Time Traveling Hyperbug, 2023 | Digital painting | 5000 x 6500 pixels | 300 DPI | PNG

In 2087, humanity has harnessed the power of time travel, but the process is dangerous and often fatal due to ​​hyperbugs in the code that cause the traveler's persona to be duplicated and scattered across time. Because of the risky nature of this model, only a special group of comrades is genetically engineered to travel through time. These workers, called conDevs (continuum developers) are kept in stasis until they are needed for a mission.

This is the story of one conDev, named Zephyr, who is sent back in time to prevent a catastrophic event that threatens the future of humanity. Zephyr's mission is to find a scientist named Dr. Kessler, who is willing to disrupt the delicate space-time equilibrium.

As Zephyr travels through different eras to get closer to Dr. Kessler, she realizes that the scientist wants to use the time-travel software in a self-interested way to prevent a personal tragedy that happened in his own past. Zephyr is faced now with a moral dilemma: should she stop Dr. Kessler to, theoretically, maintain the course of history, or would that potentially create a new future?




Time Traveling Hyperbug

Neon Nostalgia of the Crypto Mindfuck Manifesto, 2023 | Digital painting, glitch, AI | 5000 × 6500 pixels | JPEG

Neon Nostalgia of the Crypto Mindfuck Manifesto

Non-Binary Memories of a Geodesic Wasteland, 2023 | Digital painting, glitch, AI | 5000 × 6500 pixels | JPEG

Non-Binary Memories of a Geodesic Wasteland

Fluid Echoes of the Post-AbEx Collapse, 2023 | Digital painting, glitch, AI | 5000 × 6500 pixels | JPEG

This piece from the series 'Dystopian Code' was included in the post-abstract IRL show 'Incorporalis', curated by SuperChief Gallery for NFT Rome 2023.

Alejandro Javaloyas is a visual artist from Spain, currently based in France. His work explores a broad spectrum that ranges from post-abstraction to ultra-photography. He holds a BA in Fine Arts from the University of Barcelona (ES), an MA in Filmmaking from ESCAC (ES), and an MBA in Cultural Management from Aalto University (FI). You can find more about both his digital and his IRL practice at https://alejandrojavaloyas.com.

Fluid Echoes of the Post-AbEx Collapse

2+2_2,222_22_Toulouse, 2022 #25/25

Alejandro Javaloyas

Zeroed Ay Vee 1996, 2022 | Digital painting | 6500 x 5000 pixels | 300 DPI | JPEG


Zeroed Ay Vee 1996

SuperRare

A Synthetic Meditation on Rothko's Chromatic Silence, 2023 | Digital painting, glitch, AI | 5000 × 6500 pixels | PNG  


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