v1.2 - by KARBORN
︎︎︎ IT’S ALIVE! ︎︎︎
👁 HYPNOS 🌙 is an interactive meta-media sculpture centred on a bronze bust of HYPNOS, the ancient Greek god of sleep.
The god gazes across a void, toward a glowing stack of machines...
︎ AWAKE ︎
A loud hand-clap or sudden movement awakens HYPNOS — its laser-drawn eyes fixed on the CRT ahead as it loops through thousands of iconic animated gifs.
︎ ASLEEP ︎
Left undisturbed, HYPNOS drifts back to sleep — its eyes shift into crescent moons, as the CRT transitions to a live feed of the sculpture quietly watching, and dreaming, of itself.
∞
TURN AUDIO ON ^ ︎
🗽 Launch Exhibition - SuperRare Gallery 🗽
THE OFFLINE GaLLERY - 243 Bowery, Manhattan, New YorkNFT-NYC Opening Party: June 25, 2025
Public Exhibition: June 20 - July 03, 2025
x RSVP FOR OPENING HERE x
︎︎︎ BREAK-IT-DOWN ︎︎︎
︎ THE BRONZE ︎
At the heart of the work is a large bronze bust of HYPNOS, the ancient Greek god of sleep, created in collaboration with John Foxx (my father).
The bust was conceptualised first in drawings, and then sculpted by hand in clay. It was cast in bronze using the traditional lost wax method — a millenia-old technique.
Material: Bronze
Weight: ~40 kg
Dimensions: 73 × 54 × 91 cm (29” × 21” × 36”)
Patina: Verdigris
Foundry: Castle Fine Arts Foundry - UK
NOTE: 3d scan was prepared by Angelo Chiampo & Nick Sheehy. TY very much indeed to you both..
The bust was conceptualised first in drawings, and then sculpted by hand in clay. It was cast in bronze using the traditional lost wax method — a millenia-old technique.
Material: Bronze
Weight: ~40 kg
Dimensions: 73 × 54 × 91 cm (29” × 21” × 36”)
Patina: Verdigris
Foundry: Castle Fine Arts Foundry - UK
NOTE: 3d scan was prepared by Angelo Chiampo & Nick Sheehy. TY very much indeed to you both..
︎ THE BRAIN ︎
+ hypn_OS - THE OPERATING SYSTEM
The custom-built control system for HYPNOS — allowing precise, real-time tuning of the sculpture’s behaviours and states:
- Laser colour + brightness
- Eye distance, scaling + animation speed
- Sleep / wake cycle timing/interactions
- Motion + sound sensitivity
- Add GIFs on the fly
- … and much more
This fully-fledged interface unlocks the possibility of public interaction in future iterations — allowing others to step into the dream logic control of HYPNOS.
︎ THE EYES ︎
HYPNOS’s eyes are drawn onto the statue by a high-powered laser, cycling through expressive states: from full moons to crescent moons — shifting between wake and sleep, all in response to real-time inputs and interactions handled through our TouchDesigner brain.
︎ THE BODY ︎
The eyes, ears, and sensory-input body of HYPNOS.
A unique harmony of both modern digital + vintage analogue gear. THE GEAR:
- Sony Trinitron PVM-2130QM CRT monitor (21 inch)
- ELP 4K industrial USB/HDMI webcam (ICU)
- Standing USB Microphone (The ears!)
- LaserCube SOLO 1.2W laser projector (The eyes!)
- MacBook Pro (2021) (running TouchDesigner as the BRAIN!)
- Exxtron VSC900 (digi VGA → analog signal for CRT via adaptor)
- SONY speaker system APM-X5A (classic)
︎ TRACK & T.R.A.C.E ︎
Tokenized Records for Artifacts Certification and Evolution. HYPNOS is built on T.R.A.C.E by TransientLabs.
A new protocol securing the authenticity of next-generation physical artworks via verifiable records inscribed on-chain. Proper.
HYPNOS is inscribed on T.R.A.C.E HERE >>>
︎ ALL THE GIFS ︎
HYPNOS features a curated selection of thousands of iconic GIFs, chosen from my own decade-long (and ever-growing!) archive - the humble gif is the most fundamental of web formats.
This living collection expands over time — a growing body of digital folklore, looping endlessly before the eyes of an electric god.
This living collection expands over time — a growing body of digital folklore, looping endlessly before the eyes of an electric god.
︎ IN THE BOX ︎
The entire body of HYPNOS — the sculpture, machines, and all supporting gear — is included in the sale.
Everything fits into two custom-built crates, which may be stored either by me or by the collector, ready to be deployed ...
Though full rigging instructions are provided, I will personally travel anywhere, anytime, to install the piece if needed. After all, it’s a life’s work. cheers.
Everything fits into two custom-built crates, which may be stored either by me or by the collector, ready to be deployed ...
Though full rigging instructions are provided, I will personally travel anywhere, anytime, to install the piece if needed. After all, it’s a life’s work. cheers.
Thank you to the film crew who captured this piece with me:
DIRECTOR, COLOURIST & EDITOR - Karborn
PRODUCTION CO - Part Five Studio
PRODUCER - Josh Chin
DP - Craig Melville
GAFFER - Mike Kniazev
BTS - Dimitri Santaella
PA - Michael L. Andrade
for my father, my brother, and my mother.
thisishowitshouldbedone
tvbuddah12!
bigupNJP
afatherandsonproduction
londoninternational2025
thesunrisesintheeastandsetsinthewest
iamkarborn