0xDEAFBEEF is an artist whose work connects two seemingly distant worlds: the precision of code and the raw physicality of metalworking. Based in Toronto, the artist-engineer, musician, and blacksmith has spent over two decades weaving together code, sound, and metal. His practice draws from a minimalist ethos, rooted in low-level programming and traditional craftsmanship, reflecting a thoughtful engagement with the material and immaterial forces shaping our era.
This summer, Asprey Studio presented his solo show Matter and Signal at Art Basel in Basel, in the Zero 10 section. Featuring generative audiovisual pieces paired with hand-forged iron sculptures, it highlights the mindful dialogue between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary digital practice. 0xDEAFBEEF’s work acknowledges the history of electronic art, referencing other artists such as Ben Laposky and Mary Ellen Bute. hube spoke with 0xDEAFBEEF about the philosophy of his work, recurring themes in his practice, and the evolving relationship between AI and art.
hube: Looking back, whose influence do you still recognise most clearly in your practice today?
0xDEAFBEEF: I might struggle to say how exactly they influence my current practice, but there are some people that have had a strong influence at various times in my life: Arthur Ganson, a kinetic sculptor; Max Matthews, computer music pioneer; Samuel Yellin, a craftsman; Frank Zappa, composer and misfit; and Jan Svankmajer, a filmmaker and writer.
h: Your work often relies on very minimal tools. What draws you to this kind of reduction, and how does limitation actually open up more creative space for you?
0xDEAFBEEF: I write low-level code to produce sound and animation. I also work metal as a blacksmith. It may seem strange, but there are parallels between these two practices. The motivation in both stems from a desire to reclaim agency in a world of accelerating technological change. I believe craft takes on special meaning in an age of generative media. There is power in knowing what to do with your hands. I don’t know if it opens up more creative space, but manual skill gives one a sense of position in the world. That alone can be freeing.
h: Asprey Studio is presenting your solo show Matter and Signal at Art Basel in the Zero 10 section. What does the title represent in this body of work, and how does it capture the interplay between physical materiality and digital information in your practice?
0xDEAFBEEF: These are themes that I keep coming back to. I see a longstanding tension between information and material embodiment: in Plato’s ideal forms, in the first wave of cybernetics that privileged information as pure and decontextualized, in the digital culture of the 90s with mind uploading and virtual worlds, and now with AI. On the other side is phenomenology and observing how much embodied, situated experience remains stubbornly important to us, despite every technological advancement.
