Serbian artist Milos Rajkovic (a.k.a. Sholim) brings surrealism into the digital age with short video loops or GIFs in which human faces or landscapes are radically transformed. Heads open up to reveal steampunk style inner workings, vintage film clips are revisited to satirical effect and faces turn into whole new worlds..

Sholim’s creations recall surrealist paintings by the likes of Salvador Dalí or René Magritte, and the animations of Monty Python star, Terry Gilliam. These works, however, which are published on social networks, reach out to audiences around the world and can be viewed on any kind of mobile device, are very much of the present. “The entire internet is my influence,” says Sholim. “There is a lot of creativity, stupidity, and even memes that can create a spark of inspiration.”.

Consumer culture, the military or the threat of techno-dystopia are all up for discussion in Sholim’s meticulously constructed GIFs. Since 2013, his artwork has been featured in various group shows and festivals around the world, including at the Museum of Moving Images in New York, Palais de Tokyo, Paris and the Nagoya City Art Museum in Japan. His Half Machine - Half Human Portrait Series forms part of Still Human, exhibited at Espacio SOLO in 2020.