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Portraiture and Cyberpunk Aesthetics
Soulaimen Aboubacar is a Tunisian artist whose creative journey began in his father’s studio. Surrounded by brushes, pigments, and canvases, his earliest memories are tied to painting alongside his family. At 14, he won a national competition that brought him early recognition—his painting was reproduced as a postage stamp, circulating his vision across the country.
Exhibitions in Tunisia and New York and his international group portraits followed. Yet these milestones are less about the resume than about context: Aboubacar’s art is defined by a unique blend of portraiture and cyberpunk portraiture, where humanity meets technology and tradition intersects with futurism.
What distinguishes Aboubacar is his ability to bridge classical portraiture with futuristic aesthetics. His figures, rendered with careful attention to form, are layered with elements that evoke circuitry, digital glow, and machine presence. The portraits are not simply likenesses; they are explorations of what it means to be human in an age of acceleration.
Color plays a central role in his style. He often juxtaposes earthy browns with synthetic blues, creating visual tension between natural life and artificial systems. This contrast mirrors the wider tension in society between organic experience and technological mediation.
A defining feature is his use of blue eyes. In his words, these symbolize the soul—something divine that persists even in an age dominated by machines and artificial intelligence. Through this choice, his portraits hold both fragility and resilience, anchoring spiritual identity in the midst of digital transformation.
Transhumanism and the Soul
Aboubacar situates his art within the ongoing dialogue around transhumanism art. He explores how human beings evolve physically, cognitively, and spiritually in tandem with technology. His paintings reflect the unease and curiosity surrounding artificial intelligence—both as a tool he uses in his process and as a theme he critiques.
For Aboubacar, AI in art raises ethical and philosophical questions. Who is the true author when algorithms generate references? What happens to creativity when machines influence vision? By integrating AI into his process, he embodies these dilemmas instead of avoiding them, turning his practice into a form of inquiry.
The result is a body of work that never settles into either fear or celebration. His portraits embody ambivalence—resisting easy binaries, capturing the push and pull of progress against identity, and asking whether humanity can survive with its empathy intact.
Soulaimen Aboubacar, Osaka, 2024, Oil on Canvas
Political and Environmental Influences
Aboubacar’s practice does not exist in isolation from politics, society, or the environment. He acknowledges that the climate crisis, surveillance, and shrinking personal freedom shape both his themes and his methods.
His use of clashing tones—natural browns and electric blues—visualizes the confrontation between environment and technology. He addresses digital colonialism, critiquing how cultural narratives are skewed when some voices dominate online spaces while others are silenced. His work also questions how empathy survives in algorithm-driven environments, where experiences are filtered and identities fragmented.
At the heart of these themes lies a central concern: psychological and spiritual survival in a post-human world. His art asks how people retain empathy, faith, and identity when surrounded by synthetic experiences. Rather than offering solutions, he opens a space for reflection.
Aboubacar is clear in his conviction: “I don’t believe in neutral art.” For him, silence is also a message, and he refuses to make work that is purely decorative. His portraits are charged with political art, designed to provoke thought, invite discomfort, and encourage dialogue.
He has witnessed shifts in audience response. Younger curators and collectors in particular are more receptive to art that grapples with technology, climate anxiety, and loneliness in digital culture. Yet he also acknowledges polarization. Some embrace the urgency of his themes, while others prefer escapism when real-world issues feel overwhelming.
This paradox extends to institutions. While activist voices are welcomed in some contexts, others avoid controversy. For Aboubacar, this tension confirms the potency of his practice. If art unsettles, it is doing its work.
Process and Sustainability
Beyond content, Aboubacar’s process reflects conscious responsibility. He incorporates digital prototyping to minimize material waste, experiments with eco-friendly mediums, and uses 3D rendering to reduce excessive drafts and unnecessary travel. These choices align his work with sustainable practice, ensuring that the way he creates matches the values he expresses.
For him, sustainability is not limited to materials. It is also about intention—making art that contributes responsibly to cultural conversations rather than adding more noise. This holistic approach strengthens his position as both artist and citizen, demonstrating that socially engaged art must also model ethical creation.
Institutions and Free Expression
Aboubacar believes governments, cultural institutions, and markets play a vital role in protecting and supporting artists. He critiques the imbalance in public priorities: “Governments fund war machines easily—why not fund cultural responses to the damage they cause?”
He argues that support extends beyond grants. Institutions should create platforms for dialogue, especially when art challenges dominant ideologies. By doing so, they act as guardians of free expression rather than gatekeepers of conformity. His stance underscores the urgency of sustaining politically engaged artists in times of instability.
Art as Dialogue, Not Solution
Aboubacar does not see art as a source of definitive answers. Instead, his portraits function as spaces for dialogue. By placing viewers in front of figures that embody both resilience and vulnerability, he creates opportunities for reflection.
For him, success is measured not by consensus but by questions raised. If someone leaves his work reconsidering their relationship with technology, identity, or spirituality, then the portrait has served its purpose. In this way, his art becomes less about answers and more about opening doors into the future.
Lessons for Artists and Audiences
To aspiring artists, Aboubacar offers a challenge: embrace contradiction. It is possible to be soulful and digital, rebellious and strategic. Contradictions, rather than weaknesses, are fertile ground for innovation.
To audiences, his advice is to look beyond surface aesthetics. The most urgent art of today may not be conventionally beautiful, but it is necessary. True engagement lies in seeing art not just as decoration but as confrontation, reflection, and dialogue.
Portraits for a Digital Future
Soulaimen Aboubacar’s work merges portraiture with cyberpunk portraiture, tradition with innovation, and humanity with technology. His process embodies sustainable practice, while his themes confront urgent realities of surveillance, climate anxiety, and digital colonialism.
By refusing neutrality, he ensures that his art remains both mirror and provocation. His figures remind us that even in a world increasingly defined by machines, something essential remains human—and perhaps even divine.