Punch.exe
Still, 2026
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About the artwork
Punch.exe explores the moment when an interface turns aggressive. A portrait shows a man struck by a beam made of computer cursors — as if thousands of small clicks combine into a single, irreversible hit.
The work suggests a new kind of violence: not from human to human, but from system to body. There is no reason given for the punch — it simply happens, like a command executed without warning.
In Punch.exe, reality is “right-clicked.” And the viewer is left with a disturbing thought: even a person can be treated like a file — opened, selected, and harmed.
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underscores much of his art, which often highlights the serendipity of algorithmic mistakes and the nostalgia of outdated interfaces.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.