Art & Deepfakes

Wearing Gillian - Gillian Wearing#

Wearing Gillian by Gillian Wearing is a 2018 short film where the artist uses deepfake technology to superimpose her face onto actors portraying her. The work explores themes of identity, reality, and self-perception, as Wearing reflects on the discomfort of seeing herself “being me.”

curator talking

gif from the video

Imagine This - Bill Posters & Daniel Howe#

Imagine This… (2019) is a deepfake video from the Big Dada series, part of the Spectre project by Bill Posters and Daniel Howe. Combining big data, AI, and conceptual art, the work features a manipulated video of Mark Zuckerberg, recontextualizing a 2017 speech to suggest, “Whoever controls the data, controls the future.”

Created with CannyAI’s Video Dialogue Replacement (VDR) technology, the piece was showcased alongside deepfakes of Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump as part of Spectre at the Sheffield Doc Fest, critiquing power, privacy, and data control in the digital age.

Video on Instagram article on Vice

screenshot from deepfake video

Jakub Polách#

Jakub Polách is a Czech visual artist and micro-influencer known for his provocative works that intersect art, politics, and social media. He garnered attention beyond artistic circles when he presented Alena Schillerová, a Czech MP, with a portrait depicting her as a mermaid—a reference to a photo of her during government filibusters. This act sparked discussions about the role of art in political discourse and the creation of art in the age of social networks. Polách’s work often explores contemporary themes, as seen in his exhibition “Czechoslayvakia” at the Cejla Gallery in Brno, where he delves into the challenges facing Czech culture amid potential government budget cuts. Through his art, Polách engages with public figures to provoke thought about cultural policies and the societal impact of political decisions on the arts.

Picture of huge frog levitating in Lidl store over crowd of shoppers fleeing in terror by Jakub Polách

Fake advertisement of Catholic party KDU-ČSL, telling a gay man to join the church by Jakub Polách

Bolsonaro canta para Trump Without You - Bruno Sartori#

Bruno Donizati Sartori (born May 16, 1989, in Iturama) is a Brazilian journalist, comedian, and influencer. He is a pioneer in using deepfake technology to create satirical videos, gaining fame for parodies of figures like Jair Bolsonaro, Sergio Moro, and Lula. One notable example is a viral video of Bolsonaro serenading Donald Trump with “I Will Always Love You.” Though fictional, the video highlights Sartori’s use of AI to mock Brazil’s political elite. Responding to concerns about deepfakes undermining trust, Sartori defends his work as democratic satire aimed at deflating political arrogance.

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaJm7WVVZJc