ROCKING_HORSE
Video, 2023
About the artwork
My first PC came when I was 12 years old. It was a basic system unit and an acer square monitor. I spent most of my time playing mmorpgs. This computer was slow, it would often freeze, the FPS would freeze, and the animations on the monitor reminded me of slow jiggles, much like the jiggle of a "Rocking Horse". In my work, I continue to experiment with sound. In the first 9 works from the solo show 'BIOSgraphy' I used a rather chaotic set of computer-generated sounds that nevertheless complement the visual range of my work. In this work I decided to take a more conceptual approach. While I was making this work I recorded myself working on my computer. The clicks of my mouse, the humming of my computer, the chaotic pauses are both a backstage and an audio self-portrait. This sound is not the final version of my work, but it is an integral part of it.
Sound design
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underscores much of his art, which often highlights the serendipity of algorithmic mistakes and the nostalgia of outdated interfaces.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.