Kerim Safa

Kerim Safa was born in 1985 in Izmir, Turkey. He is a visual artist and musician now based in the  Netherlands. He studied fine arts at Dokuz Eylul University before earning a full scholarship to study music at Istanbul Bilgi University, a dual foundation that continues to shape his interdisciplinary approach.

His practice centers on screen-based works informed by the visual logic of early computer systems, particularly those from the late 20th century. By combining algorithmic processes with labor-intensive techniques such as pixel drawing and frame-by-frame animation, he creates works where human-made actions echo or interfere with machine logic. He embraces self-imposed constraints such as limited color palettes and low resolutions to shape a precise visual language rooted in machine aesthetics. Safa works across animation, video installation, audiovisual composition and performance, and also collaborates on musical projects as a composer and performer. Musical concepts such as polyrhythm, phase shifting, and additive structures often inform the way his visual systems are built and unfold over time. His approach also draws from the visual music tradition, where abstract forms and temporal structure are treated with the same compositional logic as sound, echoing influences like Mary Ellen Bute, Larry Cuba, and Norman McLaren.

His work has been exhibited at venues such as ZKM Karlsruhe, Valencia City of Arts and Sciences, the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, and Gashouder Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam, as well as numerous galleries and festivals worldwide. He has been active in online digital art communities since 2020, reaching thousands of collectors and artists through blockchain-based platforms. In 2025, Safa was nominated for Emerging Artist of the Year at the ABS Digital Art Prize.