YouTuber XVII 2026 – 24 x 18cm, oil, acrylic, charcoal on canvas
As the YouTuber series evolves, this single head came about unexpectedly and disturbingly: animate but corrupted, still functioning but clearly broken.
The head was scratched out of a dark ground, the effort of maintaining visibility barely sustained, but now impasto eruptions along the edges suggest the system is failing catastrophically.
Yellow, red, and off-white dollops break through at the seams like the painting is glitching in real time, the frame literally breaking down and spilling its guts. That bright orange circle of the microphone at the chest level is a point of critical overload, simultaneously a notification badge demanding attention, a recording indicator that never stops, and a wound or burn marking metabolic collapse.
The small yellow dollop near the eye echoes it, a secondary alert or damage point. The figure is still performing, you can see the posture, the facing-forward stance, a little reminiscent of Joe in Samuel Beckett’s play Eh Joe, but the energy has been completely drained out.
This isn’t quiet fade-out anymore; it’s a failing hard drive, corrupted data manifesting as physical matter.
The aftermath of extraction, still going through the motions while breaking apart at every edge.