2021. AI was still in its infancy. Many artists were afraid, and only a few experimented with these new ways of creating, remixing, combining and producing images. Now, in 2026, the world has completely changed, and the results of incredibly fast computer models have led to transformations in many areas of our daily lives.

In those early days back in 2021, I tried an app called Wonder. Using this early mobile tool, I generated a series of provocative and inspiring images around the theme of “great gesture.” At first, the idea was simply to get inspired and later create a traditional artwork on canvas.

But when thinking about how to present these images—which at the time were only available in low resolution—the most straightforward solution became combining them into a video.

In the early days of AI, the now rare occurrence of hands with three fingers or more than five fingers was completely normal. Looking back, it feels like a small time travel experiment. The atmosphere created by these glitches and strange outcomes feels surreal, almost unreal, with its own mystical quality—reminding one of Frankenstein or early horror movies.

Great Gesture – Early AI Experiments (2021)

Great Gesture was later presented as part of the annual exhibition (Jahresausstellung) of the Art Association Ebersberg, in an intimate spare room with just a sofa and the projection on the wall.

The music was composed by my son Finn Nonhoff, who publishes his work under the name “FYNN” on current streaming platforms. Since he later deleted all of his ambient work in which he had not played every instrument himself, this recording has become a rare document of his early phase, when he still used free or paid samples in his compositions.

Artificial Intelligence in the early years – 2021

have a look yourself – nowadays you need retro LLMs to generate those kind of artworks. Thy got a mystifying style which may also originates on the playfullness those old apps had.

FYNN – Boys Don’t Cry
Unofficial Video minted as NFT

The video work “NonAnoN – Boys Don’t Cry AI Video Art” explores the intersection between traditional artwork and artificial intelligence.

For this piece I remixed several of my original watercolor paintings and combined them with the song “Boys Don’t Cry” by my youngest son FYNN, who is currently producing and recording music in Amsterdam.

During this period I also experimented with minting digital artworks on blockchain platforms. The video was minted as an NFT and is available on OpenSea.

Looking back, this phase was both exciting and challenging. Learning about blockchain technology while navigating the sometimes chaotic and speculative atmosphere of the early NFT art scene was an intense experience. It included both enthusiasm and some of the more difficult aspects artists can encounter when minting and distributing digital artworks.

Out of this period, my watercolor-based NFT collections on the Tezos ecosystem emerged. For me, Tezos offered a much healthier environment for experimentation, collecting and creating digital art.

My profile on Objkt documents this journey—from early experimentation to gradually finding my own path as a human artist within digital environments:
objkt.com/@nonanon

Later developments in AI technology allowed further experiments with moving and morphing artworks, which fascinated me. While I have not yet assembled these explorations into a dedicated film, several animated snippets exist from the period between 2022 and 2025.

Many of these works were minted in the “Gateway to Joy” collection. During this time some of my watercolor paintings were animated and transformed into moving compositions—resulting in dancing, abstract visual sequences, often presented without sound.

Muse and Museums – Art Video

Museums displayed: Venice Bienale, Tate Modern, Haus der Kunst, Pinakothek der Moderne

Muse and Museums

Muse and Museums is a 10-minute art video exploring different perspectives on contemporary museums, installations and video art. The footage includes impressions from institutions such as the Venice Biennale, the Tate Modern, the Haus der Kunst and the Pinakothek der Moderne.

The work is a video collage composed of material recorded with a smartphone and fragments rediscovered in personal archives and digital memory. Different sequences, slices and visual moments are assembled into a layered reflection on the experience of moving through museum spaces and encountering contemporary art.

The video was selected by a professional jury and premiered in 2018 at the annual exhibition of the Kunstverein Ebersberg.

The installation was later presented again within a curated context during a subsequent exhibition of the Kunstverein Ebersberg.

Here you see the art videos of Björn Nonhoff