Jon Rafman’s new exhibition 𝐸𝒷𝓇𝒶𝒽 𝒦’𝒹𝒶𝒷𝓇𝒾 features both algorithmically generated paintings and video works that utilize permutations of appropriated content, encompassing everything from fine art to mass marketing material.

Colloquially familiar as abracadabra, the Hebrew phrase “ebrah k'dabri” translates roughly to “I create like the word.” Besides this expression having boundless religious, historical, and cultural connotations, it also describes the text-to-image algorithm employed by the artist to produce this most recent body of work.

 

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Rafman incorporates the rich vocabulary and visuality of the Internet to develop poetic narratives that critically engage with the present, creating works that capture the tension between the indifferent eye of the machine and the human impulse to find meaning.

 

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Jon Rafman
Egregore I, 2021
4K video
7:01 min

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His created worlds feed off online subcultures, exploring the impact of the web's dual nature on the human psyche, which can quickly shift from a sense of community to total alienation.

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Jon Rafman
Egregore I, 2021
4K video
7:01 min

Jon Rafman
Egregore I, 2021
4K video
7:01 min

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Jon Rafman
Egregore I, 2021

Jon Rafman
Egregore I, 2021

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Jon Rafman
Egregore I, 2021

Jon Rafman
Egregore I, 2021

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Jon Rafman
Egregore I, 2021

Jon Rafman
Egregore I, 2021

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Jon Rafman
Egregore I, 2021

Jon Rafman
Egregore I, 2021

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Jon Rafman
Egregore I (installation view)

Jon Rafman
Egregore I (installation view)

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His created worlds feed off online subcultures, exploring the impact of the web's dual nature on the human psyche, which can quickly shift from a sense of community to total alienation.

Entering the third floor of the Mayfair gallery building, visitors encounter Rafman’s triptych video work Ɛցɾҽցօɾҽ, which features a curated suite of found photographs that the artist has animated to underscore their latent disconcerting qualities.

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Jon Rafman
Egregore II, 2021
4K video
8:27 min

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Jon Rafman
Egregore II, 2021
4K video
8:27 min

Jon Rafman
Egregore II, 2021
4K video
8:27 min

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Jon Rafman
Egregore II, 2021

Jon Rafman
Egregore II, 2021

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Jon Rafman
Egregore II, 2021

Jon Rafman
Egregore II, 2021

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Jon Rafman
Egregore II, 2021

Jon Rafman
Egregore II, 2021

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Jon Rafman
Egregore II, 2021

Jon Rafman
Egregore II, 2021

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Ebrah

Jon Rafman
Egregore II (installation view)

Jon Rafman
Egregore II (installation view)

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Entering the third floor of the Mayfair gallery building, visitors encounter Rafman’s triptych video work Ɛցɾҽցօɾҽ, which features a curated suite of found photographs that the artist has animated to underscore their latent disconcerting qualities.

Ebrah

Jon Rafman
Egregore III, 2021
4K video
6:14 min

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An example of Rafman's methodology of world-making, in which meta-narratives and lore from the artist's vast archive take on a life of their own, Ɛցɾҽցօɾҽ curates the collective unconscious of the Internet and its users into a sequence of discrete uncanny scenes.

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Jon Rafman
Egregore III, 2021
4K video
6:14 min

Jon Rafman
Egregore III, 2021
4K video
6:14 min

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Jon Rafman
Egregore III, 2021

Jon Rafman
Egregore III, 2021

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Jon Rafman
Egregore III, 2021

Jon Rafman
Egregore III, 2021

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Jon Rafman
Egregore III, 2021

Jon Rafman
Egregore III, 2021

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Jon Rafman
Egregore III, 2021

Jon Rafman
Egregore III, 2021

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Jon Rafman
Egregore III, 2021

Jon Rafman
Egregore III, 2021

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Jon Rafman
Egregore III, 2021

Jon Rafman
Egregore III, 2021

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Jon Rafman
Egregore III (installation view)

Jon Rafman
Egregore III (installation view)

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An example of Rafman's methodology of world-making, in which meta-narratives and lore from the artist's vast archive take on a life of their own, Ɛցɾҽցօɾҽ curates the collective unconscious of the Internet and its users into a sequence of discrete uncanny scenes.

“I’m interested in this age-old question of what it is to be human and what it is to experience the world. And I think technology has always reflected how we experience the world, who we are as individuals, and how we relate to ourselves, each other and the past.”–Jon Rafman

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Ebrah

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Ebrah

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Also on view on the gallery’s third floor are Rafman's new, large-scale paintings. Created by merging the latest in text-to-image AI with innovative printing and painting techniques, these works seek to problematize the expected sterility of algorithmically-generated images, bringing their abstract digitally into physical materiality.

Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤌𐤕𐤀𐤁𐤊𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤁𐤔𐤃𐤄𐤟𐤐𐤓𐤇𐤉𐤟𐤁𐤓
(Wrestlers in Wildflower Field)
, 2022
Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas
186.7 × 134.6 cm
73.5 × 53 inches

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Jon Rafman
𐤈𐤊𐤍𐤅𐤒𐤓𐤈𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤚
(Technocrats II)
, 2022
Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas
186.7 × 134.6 cm
73 1/2 × 53 inches

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Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤌𐤕𐤀𐤁𐤊𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤁𐤔𐤃𐤄𐤟𐤐𐤓𐤇𐤉𐤟𐤁𐤓
(Wrestlers in Wildflower Field)
, 2022
Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas
186.7 × 134.6 cm
73.5 × 53 inches

Jon Rafman
𐤌𐤕𐤀𐤁𐤊𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤁𐤔𐤃𐤄𐤟𐤐𐤓𐤇𐤉𐤟𐤁𐤓
(Wrestlers in Wildflower Field)
, 2022
Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas
186.7 × 134.6 cm
73.5 × 53 inches

Ebrah
Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤌𐤕𐤀𐤁𐤊𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤁𐤔𐤃𐤄𐤟𐤐𐤓𐤇𐤉𐤟𐤁𐤓
(Wrestlers in Wildflower Field)
, 2022 (detail)

Jon Rafman
𐤌𐤕𐤀𐤁𐤊𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤁𐤔𐤃𐤄𐤟𐤐𐤓𐤇𐤉𐤟𐤁𐤓
(Wrestlers in Wildflower Field)
, 2022 (detail)

Ebrah
Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤌𐤕𐤀𐤁𐤊𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤁𐤔𐤃𐤄𐤟𐤐𐤓𐤇𐤉𐤟𐤁𐤓
(Wrestlers in Wildflower Field)
, 2022 (detail)

Jon Rafman
𐤌𐤕𐤀𐤁𐤊𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤁𐤔𐤃𐤄𐤟𐤐𐤓𐤇𐤉𐤟𐤁𐤓
(Wrestlers in Wildflower Field)
, 2022 (detail)

Ebrah
Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤌𐤕𐤀𐤁𐤊𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤁𐤔𐤃𐤄𐤟𐤐𐤓𐤇𐤉𐤟𐤁𐤓
(Wrestlers in Wildflower Field)
, 2022 (scale image)

Jon Rafman
𐤌𐤕𐤀𐤁𐤊𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤁𐤔𐤃𐤄𐤟𐤐𐤓𐤇𐤉𐤟𐤁𐤓
(Wrestlers in Wildflower Field)
, 2022 (scale image)

Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤈𐤊𐤍𐤅𐤒𐤓𐤈𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤚
(Technocrats II)
, 2022
Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas
186.7 × 134.6 cm
73 1/2 × 53 inches

Jon Rafman
𐤈𐤊𐤍𐤅𐤒𐤓𐤈𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤚
(Technocrats II)
, 2022
Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas
186.7 × 134.6 cm
73 1/2 × 53 inches

Ebrah
Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤈𐤊𐤍𐤅𐤒𐤓𐤈𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤚
(Technocrats II)
, 2022 (detail)

Jon Rafman
𐤈𐤊𐤍𐤅𐤒𐤓𐤈𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤚
(Technocrats II)
, 2022 (detail)

Ebrah
Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤈𐤊𐤍𐤅𐤒𐤓𐤈𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤚
(Technocrats II)
, 2022 (detail)

Jon Rafman
𐤈𐤊𐤍𐤅𐤒𐤓𐤈𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤚
(Technocrats II)
, 2022 (detail)

Ebrah
Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤈𐤊𐤍𐤅𐤒𐤓𐤈𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤚
(Technocrats II)
, 2022 (scale image)

Jon Rafman
𐤈𐤊𐤍𐤅𐤒𐤓𐤈𐤉𐤌𐤟𐤚
(Technocrats II)
, 2022 (scale image)

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Also on view on the gallery’s third floor are Rafman's new, large-scale paintings. Created by merging the latest in text-to-image AI with innovative printing and painting techniques, these works seek to problematize the expected sterility of algorithmically-generated images, bringing their abstract digitally into physical materiality.

Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤀𐤉𐤔𐤟𐤁𐤅𐤁𐤅𐤕𐤟𐤚
(Puppet Man II)
, 2022
Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas
186.7 × 134.6 cm
73.5 × 53 inches

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Thematically, the works are in line with many of Rafman’s dreamlike past interests, including the hybridization of creatures and animals with humans, the confusion of adolescent memory with fantasy, and the atomization of modern subjectivity.

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Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤀𐤉𐤔𐤟𐤁𐤅𐤁𐤅𐤕𐤟𐤚
(Puppet Man II)
, 2022
Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas
186.7 × 134.6 cm
73.5 × 53 inches

Jon Rafman
𐤀𐤉𐤔𐤟𐤁𐤅𐤁𐤅𐤕𐤟𐤚
(Puppet Man II)
, 2022
Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas
186.7 × 134.6 cm
73.5 × 53 inches

Ebrah
Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤀𐤉𐤔𐤟𐤁𐤅𐤁𐤅𐤕𐤟𐤚
(Puppet Man II)
, 2022 (detail)

Jon Rafman
𐤀𐤉𐤔𐤟𐤁𐤅𐤁𐤅𐤕𐤟𐤚
(Puppet Man II)
, 2022 (detail)

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Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤀𐤉𐤔𐤟𐤁𐤅𐤁𐤅𐤕𐤟𐤚
(Puppet Man II)
, 2022 (scale image)

Jon Rafman
𐤀𐤉𐤔𐤟𐤁𐤅𐤁𐤅𐤕𐤟𐤚
(Puppet Man II)
, 2022 (scale image)

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Thematically, the works are in line with many of Rafman’s dreamlike past interests, including the hybridization of creatures and animals with humans, the confusion of adolescent memory with fantasy, and the atomization of modern subjectivity.

Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤛
(Club Angel III)
, 2022
Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas
186.7 × 134.6 cm
73.5 × 53 inches

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Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤛
(Club Angel III)
, 2022
Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas
186.7 × 134.6 cm
73.5 × 53 inches

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤛
(Club Angel III)
, 2022
Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas
186.7 × 134.6 cm
73.5 × 53 inches

Ebrah
Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤛
(Club Angel III)
, 2022 (detail)

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤛
(Club Angel III)
, 2022 (detail)

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Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤛
(Club Angel III)
, 2022 (detail)

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤛
(Club Angel III)
, 2022 (detail)

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Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤛
(Club Angel III)
, 2022 (scale image)

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤛
(Club Angel III)
, 2022 (scale image)

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Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤚
(Club Angel II)
, 2022
Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas
186.7 × 134.6 cm
73.5 × 53 inches

More views
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Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤚
(Club Angel II)
, 2022
Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas
186.7 × 134.6 cm
73.5 × 53 inches

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤚
(Club Angel II)
, 2022
Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas
186.7 × 134.6 cm
73.5 × 53 inches

Ebrah
Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤚
(Club Angel II)
, 2022 (detail)

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤚
(Club Angel II)
, 2022 (detail)

Ebrah
Ebrah

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤚
(Club Angel II)
, 2022 (scale image)

Jon Rafman
𐤒𐤓𐤀𐤁𐤟𐤀𐤍𐤂'𐤋𐤟𐤚
(Club Angel II)
, 2022 (scale image)

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Ebrah

 

Rafman's major video work Counterfeit Poast, consisting of images created with the same AI image generation technology as the paintings and animated using face-tracking iPhone apps, concludes the third-floor presentation. Composed of a sequence of character-study vignettes, Counterfeit Poast explores the interrelation of crafted online identities and memories with intimate personal identities and memories, and how it is that one constitutes and distorts the other.

 

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Jon Rafman
Counterfeit Poast, 2022
4K stereo video
28:20 min

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Jon Rafman
Counterfeit Poast, 2022 (film still)

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Counterfeit Poast, 2022 (film still)

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Ebrah

Jon Rafman
Counterfeit Poast, 2022
4K stereo video
28:20 min

Jon Rafman
Counterfeit Poast, 2022
4K stereo video
28:20 min

Ebrah

Jon Rafman
Counterfeit Poast, 2022 (film still)

Jon Rafman
Counterfeit Poast, 2022 (film still)

Ebrah

Counterfeit Poast, 2022 (film still)

Counterfeit Poast, 2022 (film still)

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“I am actually trying to fight nihilism. But I fight it by telling stories that create meaning, even if the stories are about confronting the darkness and potential meaninglessness and the horror of reality.”–Jon Rafman

Trailer for Jon Rafman, Punctured Sky, 2021

 

In Rafman's video work Punctured Sky – shown in the gallery’s basement – the viewer follows a former gamer through eerie environments on his destabilizing search for a computer game that seems to have disappeared without a trace. The film resembles a so-called “creepypasta” – a horror legend that is modified, copied, and circulated on the Internet with vague or anonymous origins. Punctured Sky touches on interpersonal relationships, the trials and tribulations of one's memory, and the dynamic psychology of an isolated, atomized individual.

 

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Jon Rafman
Punctured Sky, 2021
4K video, sound
21 min

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Jon Rafman
Punctured Sky, 2021 (film still)

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Jon Rafman
Punctured Sky, 2021 (film still)

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Ebrah

Jon Rafman
Punctured Sky, 2021
4K video, sound
21 min

Jon Rafman
Punctured Sky, 2021
4K video, sound
21 min

Ebrah

Jon Rafman
Punctured Sky, 2021 (film still)

Jon Rafman
Punctured Sky, 2021 (film still)

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Jon Rafman
Punctured Sky, 2021 (film still)

Jon Rafman
Punctured Sky, 2021 (film still)

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All installation views: Ben Westoby