Cursor phishing
Video, 2025
About the artwork
Cursor Phishing is a visual synthesis of paranoia and the poetics of the early 2000s. It is a downward gaze — literally into water, metaphorically into the digital subconscious.
The cursors floating in the water are not just relics of old operating systems — they are predators from the era of phishing scams, spam, pop-up windows, and Trojan viruses. These cursor-sharks are descendants of banner ads promising “download now” and “you won a prize.” They feed on attention, on clicks, on unconscious interaction. They embody threats disguised as the familiar.
Who is catching whom — are you the cursor, or is it hunting you? Are you the observer, or already the prey?
Sound design by don't Buy
Audio explanation
Listen to don't Buy discuss this work.
Don’t Buy is a visual artist who creates digital paintings, videos, and GIFs using artificial intelligence and mixed media. Embracing a moniker that itself subverts consumerist language, he approaches art-making with a hacker’s spirit – repurposing AI technology to explore the beauty of errors and the aesthetics of early digital culture. In his work, glitchy abstractions and retro graphics converge to address themes of identity and imperfection in the online era. “When a cold, mechanical machine makes a mistake, it becomes a little more human,” Don’t Buy notes, reflecting his view that technological faults can reveal human qualities. This philosophy underscores much of his art, which often highlights the serendipity of algorithmic mistakes and the nostalgia of outdated interfaces.
A participant in Fellowship’s AI art program, Don’t Buy has presented projects that encapsulate his ethos. Notably, his series 404: SELF NOT FOUND (2024) is an assemblage of AI-generated imagery probing our entanglement with digital identities and the nature of error. Through a mix of dark humor and experimental technique, he transforms mundane clicks and computer glitches into artistic meditation.