Installation view: SYNTHETIC PROGRAM, curated by Fakewhale at Tick Tack CINEMA program, Antwerp, 2025.

SYNTHETIC PROGRAM at Tick Tack, Antwerp

Launched by Fakewhale on November 27, 2024, and first presented on SuperRare, SYNTHETIC PROGRAM debuts in collaboration with TICK TACK to showcase its second chapter. The new exhibition, inaugurated on January 21, 2025, is part of Tick Tack’s CINEMA program and will be open until February 13, 2025.

As a curated format showcasing the work of artists who use artificial intelligence as an expressive and transformative medium, SYNTHETIC PROGRAM has already been featured in exhibitions, events, and commercial activations. This new screening at TICK TACK now shines a spotlight on works by Kevin Abosch, Olga Fedorova, Scerbo, and Fakewhale Studio.

Synthetic Renaissance: AI, Video Art, and the New Creative Frontier

The curated selection delves into the intersection of AI and video art, laying the foundation for a “Video Art Renaissance 2.0” driven by technological innovation. The featured works explore themes such as cultural identity, digital aesthetics, and the symbiotic relationship between human creativity and algorithms, positioning AI not merely as a tool but as a co-creator, challenging traditional paradigms.

With its debut on the SuperRare, SYNTHETIC PROGRAM invites audiences to engage with the future of creativity, emphasizing the transformative power of AI in redefining artistic collaboration and paving the way for a new era of “synthetic creativity.”

Located in Antwerp, TICK TACK’s “Cinema” transforms its Brutalist facade into a public screen, showcasing curated moving-image works that integrate seamlessly with the urban landscape. This innovative approach provides a fresh, accessible encounter with art, activating public spaces while fostering dialogue and inclusivity.

Operating as a hybrid, nonprofit platform, TICK TACK balances private and public resources, freeing artists from commercial and institutional constraints. Its programming by day focusing on exhibitions and by night on public screenings emphasizes creative freedom, collaboration, and the production of impactful works. Through live streaming, the program connects local audiences to global viewers, extending its reach while maintaining immediacy.

By blending architectural transparency with urban rhythm, TICK TACK Cinema Program challenges traditional gallery models, offering a dynamic, ever-evolving platform where art, city, and community intersect in meaningful ways.

Featured Artists

Kevin Abosch, an Irish conceptual artist, has long pioneered generative methods ranging from machine learning to blockchain technology to question notions of identity and value. His piece “moo.01” underscores this forward-thinking spirit by merging cinematic narrative with AI-generated visuals, infusing surreal poetry and parody into a bold artistic experiment. From his early blockchain-centric works like “I AM A COIN” and “Stealing the Contents of This Wallet is a Crime,” to the fully AI-created film “Am I?”, Abosch’s practice consistently anticipates transformative eras where art and technology converge to redefine both process and meaning.

Equally drawn to the potential of AI, Brussels-based Olga Fedorova explores the tension between human interaction and modern complexity. In “Creatures of the Night: Techno Party Edition,” she projects a hypnotic techno gathering where elements of surrealism, chaos, and eerie beauty intertwine. Filtering her artistic impulses through raw data, Fedorova prods at the notion of collective hallucination, blurring the line between real-world experiences and virtual simulations. The result is a sophisticated interplay of darkness, elegance, and otherworldly energy.

Italian artist Scerbo delves into existential reflections through his manipulated photography and video art. With “Top Way Apart” and “Far Grow Halved,” he expands cinematic boundaries by crafting long-form AI-generated videos that function as continuous, shape-shifting visual landscapes. Drawing on brutalist and surrealist aesthetics, these installations challenge the typical viewer’s attention span, while subtly critiquing traditional art systems. For Scerbo, extending video duration becomes both a statement and a necessity, compelling viewers to linger beyond the initial fascination with AI as a medium.

Finally, Fakewhale Studio investigates the interplay between cutting-edge technologies and conventional artistic practices, exemplified in their piece “Structural Gradients.” As a research-driven platform, they marry theoretical inquiry with curated collaborations, probing how artificial intelligence and augmented reality reshape artistic discourse. By bridging advanced computational techniques and established art forms, Fakewhale Studio underlines the profound capacity of new media to provoke dialogue, transform perception, and spur ongoing evolution in the cultural sphere. Taken together, these diverse yet thematically intertwined works illuminate a shared commitment to pushing the limits of art, technology, and the creative imagination.

The Urban Cinematic Experience

The collaboration between Fakewhale and Tick Tack reaffirms their commitment to pushing the boundaries of how and where art can be experienced. This new partnership explores the transformative potential of artificial intelligence not merely as a tool, but as a co-creator in the artistic process. The featured video works challenge traditional notions of the medium itself, offering a glimpse into a future where cutting-edge visual production and algorithmic computation merge seamlessly.

If you’re in Antwerp, you can experience the project, which will be showcased daily from sunset to sunrise (CET), live outside TICK TACK’s exhibition space (Mechelsesteenweg 247, 2018 Antwerp) or digitally through the livestream on TICK TACK’s website.