Past Futures - An Interview with ex_mortal_
“With every passing moment, the future becomes the past. With every passing minute, our memories of the past shift—distorted, perhaps idealized, however subtly.” - ex_mortal_
t o r r e n t s, by ex_mortal_
Escaping the rush of everyday life is perhaps one of the most deeply felt desires of humankind, and in Past Futures, ex_mortal offers a compelling exploration of this yearning, a recurring theme in their work. The artist invites us into a locus amoenus, a peaceful refuge, where the hum of analog glitch chords transports us to an almost-perfect past—one defined by the distorted audio and video of VHS recordings.
These layers of imperfection are surprisingly balanced with each landscape and element of nature, all meticulously shaped by the artist’s hand. “For this collection, I wanted to explore this 'idealized distortion,' carefully controlling the signal interference, capturing each moment, then revisiting the recordings days later to identify the ideal segments,” ex_mortal explains. The result is six pieces that challenge us to consider the possibility that the artist’s horizon, with its inherent flaws and imperfections, may be more intriguing than the everyday one we know—an alternative beauty that transcends the conventional and the ordinary.
Tell us a bit about your journey as an artist—how and when you started, and what brought you to Web3. Have you always worked with video/audio and image/sound effects?
I started glitching in 2013, using just my tablet and phone—layering digitally glitched images and videos, usually set to music. Most of my glitches were created purely to enhance music clips.
Soon after joining social media, I discovered a few glitch art groups. Back then, people were freely sharing ideas and processes. It didn’t take long for me to find my way to analog glitch art. Most of this was happening in groups like GLITCH ARTISTS COLLECTIVE, VIDEO CIRCUITS, and the TACHYONS+ group.
Within my first month on social media, I saw the machines that Tachyons+ was creating, and I had to have one. I was already deeply into analog sound synthesis, and these video hardware boxes instantly appealed to me—but the timing wasn’t right. I didn’t have the space for all that.
Finally, in 2016, I got my first analog glitch device, the VORTEX DECODER. Around that time, I also met a group of local friends who wanted to start live modular synth shows (we did, and they were pretty successful). Some of my first analog glitch experiences happened at those shows, where I quickly learned that analog glitching takes practice.
After a while, I was dragging TVs and cameras to clubs for live performances—sometimes even getting paid decent money. I think those were my favorite days.
s t r e a m i n g, by ex_mortal_
Is glitch a technique, an aesthetic, or both?
Ok, this is a tough question. My personal feeling is… it’s both—but I lean heavily toward technique. I’m not an expert, but I feel there are technical differences between pure glitch and glitch art. I’m really into glitch processes and mechanically glitched signals. There are probably a thousand answers to this one, lol.
Purists will say true glitches have no human interaction—that they’re completely accidental. And I do like that; I love “naturally” occurring glitches. But I also love glitches that are carefully crafted by humans, and I think that’s where the artistry comes in. Glitch aesthetic, to me, is a careful curation of textures and styles, and it can be applied to an image in multiple ways. It can be achieved digitally, analog, or both.
And how do you see the glitch evolving in the future? Is it tied to specific technologies, could it eventually lead to different aesthetics?
As long as there is new technology, I think people will try to find ways to break it—whether it’s machines, code, or AI. :)
I know most artists don’t like being associated with a single style or theme, but in my mind, you are the artist who creates beautifully intriguing glitches with landscapes and elements of nature—absurdly delicate in a certain sense, almost bucolic. I know your work isn’t limited to just this, but it seems to be a particular focus of yours. Is there a reason you chose to incorporate these elements into your pieces?
Yes, life is beautiful, and I love traveling while being in my studio. I really enjoy glitching things that transport me elsewhere… and, by default, I think I get to take others along on these journeys.
I’d love to learn more about your process. How do you technically construct your pieces, and what tools or techniques do you rely on?
I have multiple processes, but first and foremost, I need a video signal to glitch. This can be anything—anything I can convert into a video and pass through an RCA cable becomes a playground. Drawings, 3D models, VHS tape edits—literally anything.
Sometimes, I do extensive pre-processing on images and videos. Other times, I simply glitch found footage on tape, trying to capture the best moments from the session. And sometimes, I’ll spend days meticulously preparing a scene before it gets glitched, aiming for a “perfect” setup.
Ultimately, it’s about being my own curator—selecting images before, during, and after the glitch process, finding the “best” version of a glitch, and possibly editing, subtracting, or adding to it. Also, for me, the hardware glitch devices themselves are works of art. I really enjoy getting to know them.
Regarding the Past Futures show, can you give an overview of the pieces and the concept? Is there anything different in this new collection—new experiments, perhaps?
With every passing moment, the future becomes the past. With every passing minute, our memories of the past shift—distorted, perhaps idealized, however subtly. For this collection, I wanted to explore this “idealized distortion,” carefully controlling the signal interference, capturing each second, then revisiting the recordings days later to find the ideal segments.
Everything was captured—ambient sounds of the studio, glitched audio signals, glitched video signals—all recorded in real time. Past Futures is a selection of glitches and compositions born from those sessions: digital memories shaped by electrical signals and archaic machinery.
I want to create something that represents my time on Tezos—all the way back to the H=N days. A lot has changed since then, but I’m still essentially doing the same thing, just with more experience along the way.
For this drop, I wanted to present some of my best captures alongside new experiments—and, as always, I learned a few things in the process. Past Futures includes some new techniques, particularly in capture, audio recording, and editing. I’ve also been especially selective with the glitches. They don’t have to be technically perfect—just perfect for this drop.
Finally, why Ex_mortal_?
In 2021, I was curious but also a little skeptical about joining the NFT space. I talked to many friends I respected about it, including Sky Goodman (who eventually convinced me) and another artist, Ryan, who wasn’t in the space and was very cynical about the idea.
Ryan was an art professor, and I valued his opinion. In one of our conversations, he said the crypto space would likely evolve into a mirror of the traditional art world, where most of the best artists wouldn’t make big money or gain recognition until after they were dead. I found it funny at the time to change my name to something that meant “I’m already dead.”
And here we are. :)