Eleonora Roaro, “Pallas’s Cat There Is a Picture in My Head”
Single-channel video | 2’00’’
1920×1080 HD | 16:9
Edition 3 + AP | 2023
Vocals, lyrics and music: Eleonora Roaro
Sound engineer: bluEsForCE productions (William Novati)
Producer and additional vocals: In.Visible (Andrea Morsero)
Special thanks to Gabriela Galati
This project explores the potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in artistic creation, as well as its standardisation. It stems from a provocative question: can a catchy, potentially viral song be created with almost no skills in music composition, using AI and software? The resulting artwork, “Pallas’s Cat There is a Picture in My Head” (2023), is a pop song and video featuring an AI-generated musical base and lyrics, with vocals by artist Eleonora Roaro. The song explores the interaction between humans, animals and machines, and blurs the boundary between automatic creation and human intervention.
The inspiration for the project came from a viral reel on Instagram and TikTok featuring a Pallas’s cat or manul, a small wild cat from central Asia, in a zoo trying to keep its paws warm by putting them on its tail on a winter day. The video loops obsessively with a soothing effect, while the lyrics – written in the font commonly used for memes – appear on the screen like karaoke and ironically allude to the desire to appropriate online content, even if it could be dangerous.