The Glitch

What is the significance of glitch art in this day and age? Personally, I see it as an expression of technology’s rapid evolution, as a visual metaphor for the strikingly beautiful chaos that comes with data manipulation and spontaneity. This project tries to emphasize the subtleties of the glitch style rather than going overboard with digital distortions. When I create glitches I don’t want it to be unrecognizable, because then the viewer can’t relate to it beyond their own perceptions of irregular shapes and color. Instead, I prefer depicting something which is in the process of becoming unrecognizable. This transitory phase has always interested me more as an artist than the messy disorientation of pixels. It’s a state of decay and transmutation; it’s a state of change, disequilibrium, and sometimes even growth.

The images were created using a variety of methods and tools, with Photoshop being the primary course of action. It was interesting to play around with various techniques like pixel sorting, color shifting, and displacement maps to come up with this mysterious yet compelling imagery. I was also forced to think outside the box in terms of getting the raw images themselves, like taking long long exposures of TV screens. Overlaying multiple images also allowed for unique compositions which wouldn’t be possible with a single exposure.

Much of the inspiration for these images came from a place of surreal suffering. In February of 2019, I shattered my femur in a rock climbing accident and, in a strange way, it felt like my own life had been glitched. My leg’s “controls” had malfunctioned and I couldn’t use it like before. I experienced new pains, both physical and mental, which I’d never known. My view of the world changed permanently and drastically because of a singular, catastrophic event. We never expect glitches to happen, but when they arise it’s like being struck by lightning: powerful, instantaneous, and with potentially life-altering consequences. But it’s these momentary flashes, like so many art forms, which allow us to see things from a new perspective. Glitched imagery has since become one of my favorite styles because at the heart of this aesthetic lies a philosophy which embraces change and pushes the envelope of what’s reasonable. Glitches embody the hidden potential behind every moment, revealing a world of chaos where nothing is impossible. Now that I’ve regained my ability to walk again, I’m excited to get back the chasing a life of meaning. I thank all my family and friends who helped me endure the trials of recovery.