ERROREleven fingers
Video, 2023
About the artwork
In my work, I delve into the aesthetics of neural networks. Deformation of figures and parts of the human body has long been an integral part of artificial intelligence. A neural network can add extra fingers to a person, and it's perfectly normal for this to be perceived as a flaw, but what if AI is trying to convey a certain idea to us in this way? Neural networks now have a greater influence on our lives, and for many artists, AI has become an indispensable tool. For quite some time, I tried to generate human hands for one of my works, but each time AI produced the wrong result. Unlikely hands or extra fingers appeared in my depiction. Then I pondered: what if the eleventh finger is not a mistake? What if AI is trying to communicate with us in this way, and what if the extra fingers generated on the hand are a warning from AI about the inevitable future of our biological species and body? Additional fingers as additional tools in the modernized human body. Coincidence or prophecy?
AI generated music
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underscores much of his art, which often highlights the serendipity of algorithmic mistakes and the nostalgia of outdated interfaces.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.