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Xpiritualism

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Xpiritualism is a loosely defined internet movement centered on digital collage, characterized by a combination of old internet culture, esotericism, New Age spirituality, and aesthetics from various foreign internet sources. The term "#Xpiritualism" originated on Instagram, coined by 3rd.world.elite. While TikTok features Xpiritualist edits with common, repetitive elements, platforms like Instagram, Discord, and YouTube encourage artistic innovation and unique styles within the movement. Xpiritualism is broadly defined by themes of spirituality, internet art, and global culture, appealing to an outsider art base due to its lack of rigid stylistic constraints.

The aesthetic has become associated with the works of Yabujin, a Lithuanian DJ and rapper who has incorporated a visual aesthetic reminiscent of early 2000s internet culture since approximately 2018, often using low-resolution video (480p or lower). His artistic output includes a video series titled "Azeroy" (2018-2022), presented in a constructed language called "Azeroyska" with English subtitles. The "Azeroy" series and Yabujin's music videos often feature overlay edits, GIFs, and an aesthetic evocative of Windows XP-era internet. His musical style involves heavily bit-crushed and sped-up vocals with diverse sampling, referencing early 2000s internet culture and video games like Love Hina Sim Date RPG, Tekken, Counter-Strike 1.6, and Runescape. Album art often includes screenshots from obscure dating simulators, foreign internet imagery, and familiar but distorted visuals.

While Xpiritualism is not solely defined by Yabujin, his work has been influential in popularizing associated visual and musical elements. The aesthetic draws heavily from the imagery and cultural context of the early 2000s internet, incorporating surreal and dreamlike qualities.

Visuals[]

Xpiritualism incorporates distorted and surreal imagery, drawing parallels with Surrealism and Weirdcore. Similar to early net.art, it employs kitsch, low-fidelity effects. However, Xpiritualism distinguishes itself by integrating diverse art styles and concepts, utilizing themes of spirituality, old internet aesthetics, ancient art, and multicultural elements. This contrasts with Weirdcore's typically simpler and more uniform visual approach. The aesthetic most closely related visually and musically is HexD. The aesthetic can widely vary by artists.

Yabujin's early music videos, starting around 2018, often exhibit a 2000s aesthetic, with video quality typically capped at 480p. His project "Azeroy" (2018-2022) is a significant audiovisual work that further exemplifies this style. Described as a dreamlike or oneiric project, "Azeroy" consists of a series of videos (0-8) forming a continuous narrative, presented with intentionally low visual fidelity reminiscent of the Windows XP era internet. These videos often feature overlay edits and GIFs. The narrative of "azeroy" is complex, involving a constructed language ("Azeroyska") with fan-deciphered elements, and explores themes of creation, life, and transformation through surreal and often unsettling imagery.[1]

Yabujin's other musical projects, such as the mixtapes "Flash Desire" (2019) and the EP "Baroque" (2019), also contribute to the visual language of Xpiritualism. "Flash Desire" incorporates references to early 2000s internet culture, video games (like Love Hina Simday RPG and Tekken), and even North Korea, often through heavily edited and distorted visuals on album covers and within associated videos. The cover art for "Swords" (2020) features Guts from Berserk, aligning with the project's sampling of the 1990s anime. "Baroque"'s visuals blend Webcore aesthetics with PlayStation 1 FMVs and religious iconography.

The work of DJ GYROTTA ZAO, an alias of Yabujin, further expands the visual style of Xpiritualism. Tracks like "Zetrakore Xaos Da Jumping Gargoylz" (2020) feature intentionally low-quality, disturbing, and surreal imagery, aiming to elicit a strong sense of disorientation and bewilderment in the viewer. Other tracks, such as "Valeria Bounze" (2021), sample sounds from the game LSD Dream Emulator. The "RaRMANRiPZz" video series (2009), associated with Yabujin, presents dissonant and glitchy industrial visuals. DJ mixes under the aliases "LARD" (2021) and "Sp1r1t0x" (2021) employ lo-bit aesthetics, erratic transitions, and effects like phaser filters, contributing to the collage-like and often disorienting visual experience characteristic of Xpiritualism.

While Yabujin's work is significant, other artists have explored related visual territories. Do Thien Live Beautifully, a Vietnamese artist with an extensive social media presence and a cult following, creates music videos incorporating internet graphics and effects.[2]

James Howard's art reappropriates the visual language of the internet, specifically imagery found in spam and online scams. His work includes dreamscape visions, depictions of role-play characters, and installations like "Black Money Show," which addresses internet fraud. Howard's process involves copying and pasting images from spam sources, manipulating them in Photoshop, and exploring themes of online identity and security. He acknowledges the potentially illegal nature of his source material.[3]

Florecita Dreams is a YouTube channel noted for its unusual web art series. While some categorize it as an ARG or theory crafting, it presents a distinct visual style. Content includes explorations of government conspiracies and psychological themes. There is discussion regarding the channel's intent, with perspectives ranging from viewing it as "shitposting" to recognizing it as a unique art project.

Additionally, Happy World Daddy is a web series by Sam Hyde. It is described as an experimental niche marketing campaign targeting specific online subcultures. The series employs avant-garde and often disruptive humor.[4]

Misconceptions[]

Common understandings of Xpiritualism include several inaccuracies.

It is not a singular, unified aesthetic but rather a loosely connected network of artists employing diverse styles and techniques, unified by shared interests and recurring themes. The terms "Yabujincore" or "CurseWeb," while popular for describing this aesthetic on TikTok, are misnomers, as they do not encompass the wide range of artists involved. Furthermore, Yabujin, Taconiel, and CurseWeb, while significant figures, are not its originators. Similar artistic expressions predated Yabujin's rise in popularity, with Taconiel and CurseWeb developing distinct styles after initial inspiration from him.

Xpiritualism functions as a collaborative circle of artists who support each other's explorations of similar themes through varied artistic experimentation. The popularization of terms like "Yabujincore" and "CurseWeb" on platforms like TikTok is often discouraged by the community, who prioritize the recognition of all contributing artists. Some within the movement resist a definitive label, fearing it could impose limitations. However, "Xpiritualism" is the currently favored designation.

Yabujin is a prominent artist associated with the increased visibility of Xpiritualism, though he was not the first to produce such art and music. Artists including horribleluxury, Elysia Crampton, Thaiboy Digital, Do Thi Thien Ly Live Beautifully, James Howard, FlorecitaDreams, and Sam Hyde (Million Dollar Extreme) had previously created similar works and explored comparable concepts. A core tenet of Xpiritualism is the creation of novel works, moving beyond mere imitation of what has already been done. It involves the utilization of the internet and art as tools to explore themes of spirituality, multiculturalism, and internet culture.

Artists[]

Important Note: To avoid redundancy, these are musical and visual artists, or both.

  • 1nsekt_ (also known as Y2K3)
  • 3rd.world.elite
  • 7night7life7 (NSFW)
  • Azeroyskanprincess
  • blissyboy
  • Clovers
  • CurseWeb
  • David Dees
  • Death Souljah
  • DeNzZzEeLx
  • DJ BILLYBOOL (also known as Thaiboy Digital)
  • DJ hy๒гเ๔ 𝓽𝓮𝓮𝓷 SoՆdier aՆՆ-ς੮คr
  • DJ YangchunfenxuanYi 𧪋 Xian, disobey flattery
  • 𝔇𝔍 3ЯℜИЕ⚕Г 𝔅𝔜𝔎λ8
  • Do Thi Thien Ly Live Beautifully
  • Dylann Angercar
  • elega8soriat
  • evil52guard
  • everlush1ight
  • FlorecitaDreams
  • Frozen Jumper
  • gasuji
  • happy ツ
  • heartsayako
  • h3rets
  • horribleluxury
  • INTERNET ILLIDAN
  • James Howard
  • Jin.x126
  • k4tarsiz6.nabelagyza (NSFW)
  • KATARSIZ YAKHULAT
  • ki11bi
  • MaNDRAa (also known as Taconiel)
  • Mokshadripp
  • nehellenian_matrix_scribblez
  • nekotokyoshinjuku
  • PilotRedSun
  • puffypuffypuffypuffypuffypuffy
  • rekinlyk (semi-NSFW)
  • Sam Hyde
  • Shadow Wizard Money Gang
  • sourized
  • sxcrap (NSFW)
  • SWAGGER BOYZ
  • thanks god
  • Y2K3 (also known as 1nsekt_)
  • Yabujin (also known as DJ GYROTTA ZAO)
  • 卂кㄩяཞѵѳяㄒё (also known as sprinks)

Music[]

Genres[]

Under Construction

Songs, Playlists & Albums[]

Media[]

Webseries[]

  • AZEROY-ЯXEROУ (2018—2021)
  • Happy Tree Friends (1999-present)
  • Madness Combat (2002-present)
  • PR - Pico Day (animation) (2006)
  • username:666 (video) (2008)

Television[]

  • Block 13 (2000-2002)
  • Happy World Daddy (2018-present)
  • HydeWars (2016)
  • Xavier: Renegade Angel (2007-2009)

Video Games[]

  • Claw Web DX & Sword Web DX (non-existent)
  • Counter-Strike series (2000-present)
  • Cruelty Squad (2021)
  • Doom series (1993-present)
  • Duke Nukem series (1991-present)
  • Eva4 Sim Date RPG (2003)
  • Final Fantasy series (1987-present)
  • Flash Genies
  • Gears of War series (2007-present)
  • God of War series (2005-present)
  • Halo series (2001-present)
  • Hong Kong 97 (1995)
  • iPad Baby (2024)
  • Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (2010)
  • Kawaii Adobenshaas in Anime Rand (2009)
  • Love Hina Sim Date RPG (2004)
  • LSD: Dream Emulator (1998)
  • Malice@doll (2001)
  • Mario Forever (2004)
  • Mars 3D/The Ultimate Fighter (1997)
  • MUGEN (1999)
  • Pico's School (1999)
  • Revenge of the Sunfish (2007)
  • Runescape (2001)
  • Sailor and the Seven Ballz and other MMG hentai parody OVAs (2000)
  • Sex Kitten Sim-Date series (2004-2006)
  • Shadow Warrior series (1997-present)
  • Silent Hill 2 (2001)
  • Sonic Robo Blast 2 (1998)
  • Sonic.exe (2012)
  • Soulcalibur series (1995-present)
  • Tahití Hidden Pearls (2009)
  • Tekken series (1994-present)
  • The Holy Mountain (1973)
  • Touhou Project series (1997-present)
  • Warcraft series (1994-present)
  • Wizard101 (2008)
  • Wolfenstein series (1981-present)
  • Grab The Auto 3 (2025) (aka Crack-Life Mod for GTA 3)

Film[]

  • Animal Wars (2000)
  • Bolívar el Héroe (2003)
  • Malice@doll (2001)
  • Sailor and the Seven Ballz and other MMG hentai parody OVAs (2000)
  • The Holy Mountain (1973)

Resources[]

Instagram Galleries[]

Inspiration[]

This is a category for anything that could inspire new styles within the movement.

YouTube[]

RateYourMusic[]

Archives[]

Communities[]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. ↑ "The Rapper Who Created Their Own Language" on youtube.com
  2. ↑ "Live Beautifully (Sống Đẹp)" on nowness.asia
  3. ↑ "James Howard: turning spam into art" on theguardian.com
  4. ↑ "Happy World Daddy" on tvtime.com

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