We speak to illustrators and artists at the forefront of a wave of grotesque visual work, about why it makes you feel so weird, but you just can’t look away.

Welcome to Shades of Intelligence, a new series investigating the creative industry’s growing relationship with artificial intelligence. In this introductory piece, we provide a bird’s-eye view of how creatives are feeling towards machine learning and emerging technologies.

In an extract from his book spotlighting the work of artists “in the margins” of the mainstream, Marc Steene explores their alluring creative intuition and how best to cultivate individual talent.

In conversation with four creatives and a therapist, we uncover stories of rejection: the ways it can be dealt with, the lessons that can be learned, and how sometimes (suspend disbelief) it may even be a positive experience.