Known for trippy GIFs with an 80s color palette and tendency to blow minds, Argentine artist Gustavo Torres, a.k.a., Kidmograph, shatters the boundaries between his GIF world and reality with a series of experimental new works. The loops, posted to Instagram, depict everyday scenes like an open laptop, an old TV, or a selfie, but covered in artifacts from the animated realm. Torres’ self-portraits look like an intricate Snapchat filter gone awry, or a mixed-reality fashion statement. The still lifes, which don’t sit still, look like computer viruses made flesh.
“This is a technique where I combine simple iPhone footage and then I track it in 3D in Cinema 4D. After that, I do the compositing/post in After Effects,” Kidmograph explains. He’s been experimenting with this process for months, achieving similar effect late last year with 2D animation. The uncanny valley effect of seeing strange digital organisms interacting with reality is intentional. “My main idea is that. Combine reality and my aesthetic in a way that blends seamlessly. Not hyperreal, but something in the middle, generating some kind of confusion in the spectator.” The prospect of injecting more confusion into Kidmograph’s already dizzying repertoire is daunting, but the artist says this is just the beginning. Right now he’s on a much-needed vacation, but he assures us, “Hopefully many more are coming!”
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Click here to visit Kidmograph’s website and here for his Instagram.
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The Warping 3D World of Kidmograph
