Exploring constraint as a structural and aesthetic principle within systems, Kerim Safa investigates how strict boundaries shape perception across image, motion, and sound. By combining algorithmic processes with hand-crafted, labour-intensive methods, he aims to preserve a human presence within digital creation, at times manually mimicking the rigid and repetitive behavior of the machine itself. Rooted in early computer graphics, video games, and obsolete technologies, his practice responds to the high-resolution maximalism of contemporary digital culture, seeking meaning in the smallest particles of the medium. This philosophy runs across his animations, installations, performances, static and real-time works, where the nuances of time and form are revealed within hard limits. Alongside his practice, he leads workshops in audiovisual practices, creates visuals for musicians, and composes and performs music.
Space in Sound, Hubert, Nijmegen, Netherlands — AIR; curated by Herman van den Muijsenberg, 2026
Art After Dark, TezDev, Cannes, France — ARCHITYPES; collaboration with Kristen Roos, 2026
Música Visual #3, Convent de Sant Agustí, Barcelona, Spain — Bok; collaboration with Kristen Roos, 2026
Night Lights Denver, Daniels & Fisher Tower, Denver, USA — 10 Steps; curated by Braw Haus, 2026
Silicon Circus, Goffertstadion, Nijmegen, Netherlands — Live AV; collaboration with Prisma Collective, 2026
SPARK, Schlachter 151, Berlin, Germany — LOST MACHINE MANUAL; curated by The Lighthouse, 2025
DEMO LA, Marriott LA Live, Los Angeles, USA — Monolithic Machines; curated by DEMO&LACMA, 2025
New Retinas, ARTLAB Siroco, Madrid, Spain — seed_124107; curated by Tales Tommasini, 2025
Kunstnacht, NYMA, Nijmegen, Netherlands — Loominance; curated by Schemerlicht Festival, 2025
Spaces to Speak, Places to Play, Expo Bart, Nijmegen, Netherlands — Pool; collaboration with Maureen Jonker & nobuka, 2025
ABS Digital Art Prize, Palácio de Tancos, Lisbon, Portugal — nullMachines; collaboration with Loïc Schwaller, 2025
SACRED CODE, Noise Media_Art, Istanbul, Turkey — floors & ceilings; collaboration with Loïc Schwaller, 2025
ARCHITYPES, objkt.one, Online — collaboration with Kristen Roos, 2025
Punto y Raya, Sofia, Bulgaria — Bok; collaboration with Kristen Roos, 2025
RGB MTL, Clash Studios, Montreal, Canada — Selected works; curated by Kiszkiloszki, 2025
DEMO NL, Public Screens, Netherlands — Monolithic Machines, nullMachines, 2025
Nur Now, Kazan, Tatarstan — Machineloops; curated by Rashid Osmanov, 2025
Uitnacht, Eusebiuskerk, Arnhem, Netherlands — Machineloops, 2025
Outpost #1, De Basis, Nijmegen, Netherlands — Live AV; collaboration with Dead Symbols, nobuka & Kollee, 2025
Tamagotchi, Nguyen Wahed Gallery, New York, USA — VISTA; collaboration with Loïc Schwaller, 2024
Floyd Bennettt Field! Public Arts Festival, New York, USA — Machineloops; curated by Peter Burr, 2024
Spectra, Lume Studios, New York, United States — Encryption Facility, 2024
Kinomural, Wrocław, Poland — Machineloops; curated by Piotr and Bartek Bartos, 2024
Ribela Festival, Sarria, Spain — Earth; curated by Sutan, 2024
Omotesando Interactivité, Gallery Lapin et Halot, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan — Machineloops; curated by f.l.i.p., 2024
VideoListening #1, Nagaoka Institute of Design, Nagaoka, Japan — Machineloops; curated by Synichi Yamamoto, 2024
Neo Shibuya's 30 Seconds Museum, Miyashita Park, Tokyo, Japan, 2024
Nur Now, Kazan, Tatarstan — Machineloops; curated by Rashid Osmanov, 2024
Tamagotchi, Non-Fungible Conference, Lisbon, Portugal — VISTA; curated by Mimi Nguyen, 2024
The Collab Room II, Here&Now, Online — Psychetron; collaboration with Spøgelsesmaskinen, 2024
RGB MTL, Clash Studios, Montreal, Canada — Selected works; curated by Matau, 2024
C3 Dev Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands — Factory of Nothing, 2024
Film My Design, Cairo, Egypt — Machineloops; curated by DEMO Festival, 2024
Nur Festival, Kazan, Tatarstan — Encryption Facility; curated by Rashid Osmanov, 2024
Hyperconnection, School of Digital Arts, Manchester, United Kingdom — Monolithic Machines; curated by Mimi Nguyen, 2023
New Society, NFT Factory, Paris, France — Un/boxing; curated by Braw Haus, 2023
TEZ ART MTL, Clash Studios, Montreal, Canada — Selected works; curated by Xer0x, 2023
Digital Nostalgia, NFT Show Europe, City Of Arts And Sciences, Valencia, Spain — The Screen; curated by Sutan, 2023
Bideotikan, Bilbao, Spain — Machineloops; curated by Mikel Lauki, 2023
Éclairage Public #7, Le 109, Nice, France — Selected works; curated by Galerie Diapo, 2023
MET AMS, Westergas, Amsterdam, Netherlands — Machineloops, 2023
Refraction, Black Box, Denver, USA — pattern4pattern; curated by Dina Chang, 2023
Digital Nostalgia, Accomparts, Online — Strata; curated by Brendan Tadler, 2023
Ancient Futures, Istanbul Archeology Museum, Istanbul, Turkey — The Unnecessary Machine(s); curated by Lalin Akalan, 2022
Grounded Festival, Fort bij't Hemeltje, Utrecht, Netherlands — Bits & Beams; collaboration with Roel Weerdenburg, 2022
NFT Show Europe, City Of Arts And Sciences, Valencia, Spain — Selected works; curated by futr art, 2022
NFT.İST: ÖTE, CoBAC, Istanbul, Turkey — Selected works, 2022
DEMO Festival, Multiple locations, Netherlands — Machineloops, 2022
Dream Launch, NFT Playground, Amsterdam, Netherlands — Selected works, 2022
The Collab Room, Here&Now, Online — The Monument; collaboration with Kristen Roos, 2022
What Hot Sh!t, Galerie Greulich, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany — Ambitious Factory of Pointless Reconstruction, 2021
Tunnelvision, Grounded Festival, Fort bij't Hemeltje, Utrecht, Netherlands — Selected works, 2021
Rotterdam Verlicht, AHOY, Rotterdam, Netherlands — sqrlps, 2021
Andermaal, Tivolivredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands — Live performance with Dirge Seçil Kuran, 2021
Get Minimal, Zardoz Club, Online — Selected works, 2021
Engage, Re-nd-er-ed, Online — sqrlps, 2021
Crystal World VR, Escape010101, Online — sqrlps, 2021
Culture Shock, De Voorkamer, Utrecht, Netherlands, — Live performance with Satyakam Mohkamsing, 2021
HIJS Lights, Afrikaanderwijk, Rotterdam, Netherlands — sqrlps, 2020
Hyena Noise Festival, Villa K, The Hague, Netherlands — Live performance, 2019
Melbourne International Animation Festival, Melbourne, Australia — siwz, 2017
New Zealand International Film Festival, Auckland, New Zealand — siwz, 2020
Punto y Raya Festival, ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany — siwz, 2016
Ses Duvarı/Sound Wall, Karga, Istanbul, Turkey — Rhythmic Structure of Ethic Minorities in Turkey, 2015
Rebodying, Santralistanbul Energy Museum, Turkey — Collaboration with Armando Menicacci & Bodig Collective, 2010
Druskomanija, Menų spaustuvė, Vilnius, Lithuania — Live performance with IBULOrk, 2010
IBULOrk, Santralistanbul Energy Museum, Istanbul, Turkey — Site-specific live performance with IBULOrk, 2010
ISCMS, Eminonu Bridge, Istanbul, Turkey — Site-specific installation and performance, 2010
New Music/Yeni Muzik 5, alt., Istanbul, Turkey — Live performance with IBULOrk, 2010
IBULOrk, Live electronics, Tamirane, Istanbul, Turkey — Sound art performance with IBULOrk, 2010
Journey of Sound/Sesin Yolculugu 4, ITU MIAM, Istanbul, Turkey — Live performance with IBULOrk, 2010
IBULOrk, Live electronics, Peyote, Istanbul, Turkey — Sound art performance with IBULOrk, 2010
Introduction to Music Visuals, De Basis, Nijmegen, Netherlands, 2026
Exploring the Roots of Screen-based Arts, City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia, Spain, 2023
Sustainable NFT, Sónar Festival, Istanbul, Turkey, 2022
Artist Talk, NFT Playground, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2022
Artist Talk, NFT.İST: ÖTE, CoBAC, Istanbul, Turkey, 2022
Video Games as Interactive Art, Plato College of Higher Education, Istanbul, Turkey, 2013
Architypes: In Conversation with Kristen Roos and Kerim Safa, Kika Nicolela, objkt.one, 2025
The Art of Doing Nothing: The Concept and Creation of nullMachines, Mimi Nguyen, verse, 2024
MoMI x Tezos Community Curation, Xer0x, Museum of the Moving Image, New York, 2024
nullMachines, Creative Applications, 2024
New Society, New Society Media, Paris, 2023
Monolithic Machines: In Conversation with Kerim Safa, Mimi Nguyen, verse, 2023
Retro loops: Exploring the seamless pixel animations of digital artist Kerim Safa, Manu Sharma, STIR, 2022
Artist Q&A, The Tickle, 2022
Diyalog, Onur Çoban, Mercado, 2022
Q&A with “Digital Waste” Artist Kerim Safa, UC Berkeley CLTC, 2021
Interview, GatherArt, 2021
Emerging Artist of the Year Nomination, ABS Digital Art Award, Geneva, Switzerland, 2025
Community Curation Nomination, Museum of the Moving Image, New York, 2024
Best Electronic Music Composition, Yamaha All-Stars Music Award, Istanbul, Turkey, 2010
Full Music Scholarship, Bilgi University, Istanbul Turkey, 2007–2011
BA Composition and Music Technology, Bilgi University, Istanbul, Turkey, 2007–2011
Fine Arts Studies, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey, 2003–2007