PAUL SELING

[ footnotes ] #9

Concept overview

This work was a form of installation art that relied on internet platforms for dissemination. At its core, it featured the image of a 3D-modeled human head, overlaid with the figure of a rat consuming its mind—a paradoxical and symbolic visual meant to provoke layered interpretations.

Visual strategy and symbolism

Neutrality and ambiguity

The head was designed in a neutral, low-poly 3D style, with polished but rough features and greyish tones. This minimalist treatment served several purposes:

  • To avoid specific identity associations, allowing viewers to project their own interpretations.
  • To subtly encourage mild narcissistic identification or personal questioning.
  • To prevent strong emotional reactions while still implanting a faint mental trace in the observer’s memory.

Grey, often dismissed as “uninspired,” was intentionally chosen for its ability to avoid immediate analysis. However, those with visual training or artistic backgrounds may notice the nuanced compositional choices and appreciate the understated complexity.

The rat as metaphor

The rat devouring the brain was meant as a symbol open to multiple readings:

  • Obsession
  • Betrayal
  • Spying / snitching
  • Internalized paranoia
    It also subtly referenced George Orwell’s 1984, further deepening the thematic tension between internal thoughts and external control.

Intended psychological effect

The artwork aimed to act like a “mental virus”, one with no clear purpose or direction—simply released into the public sphere to observe reactions. The hypothesis was that even without a clear narrative or actionable meaning, it could:

  • Stir unease, discomfort, or curiosity
  • Generate discussions (especially among multidisciplinary audiences)
  • Encourage viewers to seek validation or external analysis (e.g., asking 3D specialists about the model)
  • Spread further across mediums through organic interest

This was less a call to action and more a social experiment in visual and conceptual contagion.

Technical and community cues

To a trained 3D artist, the intentionally rough and obviously fake 3D elements (e.g., a stock low-poly head and a basic collage of a rat) served as subtle humor. It signaled that the work was not really aimed at technical specialists, but was using their language as camouflage to reach a different audience.

The goal was to separate “knowers” from “non-knowers”:

  • Professionals would recognize the visual tricks and might smile at the embedded joke.
  • Others might be triggered into debate, reflection, or even anxiety—depending on how much they engaged with the imagery.

Emotional and sensory dimensions

The piece was layered with emotional cues, ranging from:

  • Insidiousness
  • Obsession / Sadism
  • Cold ambition
  • Cynicism under calm appearance

These emotional tones were embedded in both visual texture and symbolic framing. The intention was to amplify cognitive dissonance in less-trained viewers and stimulate analytical or creative speculation in more educated ones.

Conclusion: An open-ended experiment

The project was essentially a conceptual probe—a self-propagating image designed to:

  • Seed low-level psychological discomfort
  • Test social dynamics of visual interpretation
  • Observe whether a symbolic construct could trigger real-world discussion, dissemination, or even mild paranoia

By leaving the piece open to multiple interpretations and avoiding any directive, the work embraced ambiguity as a strategy of engagement, letting viewers’ own minds “complete” the virus.

( written aprox. 2014, on/from file “rathead.txt” and then rewritten with ChatGpt )

You can see the visual project on my Behance profile :

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