He created the opening sequence for the hit American TV series *Separation*, and his surreal 3D animations have quietly taken the internet, the art world and mobile screens by storm. He has collaborated with The Beatles, Gorillaz and Valentino. This artist’s popularity is growing with every project he undertakes. We’re talking about Extraweg, who will be appearing in Poland at this year’s Kinomural festival in Wrocław on 18 and 19 September.
Provocation, non-conformism, risk and attitude
Extraweg is the artistic identity of Oliver Latty, a Berlin-based artist and director. His works are instantly recognisable: bodies that stretch, transform and loop; human forms transformed into metaphors for the pressures, contradictions and absurdities of contemporary life. Currently, the artist focuses on narrative-driven projects that blend art and design. In his creative vision, Extraweg aims to make the invisible visible, and to create works that leave a lasting impression. And this is not about following trends, but about creating something personal, meaningful and enduring. Provocation, non-conformism, risk and attitude – these are the key words defining this artist’s creative journey. And what does new media art mean to him?
New media art is not defined by a specific technology – it is defined by the way in which artists respond to the world in which they live. For me, digital tools are simply a language through which I explore human behaviour, emotions and the contradictions of contemporary life. As technology becomes increasingly intertwined with our everyday lives, I believe that new media art will grow in significance. It allows artists to question our relationship with technology, rather than merely celebrating it, and to reveal invisible systems, emotions and behaviours in a completely new way,’ she replies.
From the very beginning, Extraweg has defied simple categorisation. He is not an artist who has moved from the internet to the museum, nor is he a gallery artist who ‘discovered the internet’. He has always moved between these worlds, treating them as a single, shared medium. In his work, he combines art and storytelling, and his personal experiments have already reached millions of internet users. This has led him to collaborate with icons such as Apple, The Beatles, Gorillaz, Mick Jagger, Travis Scott, Valentino and Vogue.
He is definitely interested in playing with ambiguity. He critiques social norms through unsettling, abstract visuals – such as the opening credits for *Separation*, which reflect a fractured identity. Together with Apple, he received two Emmy Awards for them, both for Outstanding Title Design, and it’s worth noting that this was the first time in the awards’ history that a series had won in this category twice. His work is both beautiful and unsettling. They mesmerise with their perfect animation, only to leave the viewer wondering, a moment later, why they find it so easy to recognise themselves in them. In Extraweg’s world, everything is a little too soft, a little too flexible and a little too familiar. The artist on the role played by new media art and the impact it has on us:
Its greatest strength lies in its ability to freely cross the boundaries between different disciplines and to reach people in unexpected places. It can combine image, movement, sound, technology, architecture and public space, without being confined to a single medium. At its best, new media art is not about technology itself – it is about a way of looking at the world. It offers us new perspectives, enabling us to see ourselves, our behaviour and the world we are constantly helping to shape in a different light.
Two evenings with ‘Human Patterns’ by Extrawega at Kinomural
In Wrocław, the artist will present his original programme, Human Patterns – a cross-section journey through the worlds characteristic of his work, in which the human body becomes a field of experiments, metaphors and endless loops. Over two evenings, Extraweg will take over the entire wall in Nadodrze, showing a different set of works each day. And it’s hard to imagine a better venue for his animations than a monumental façade, where contemporary fears, absurdities and obsessions can finally be realised on a scale befitting them:
Most of my work is viewed individually – on a small screen and often for just a few seconds. As part of Kinomural, they will become part of the architecture and a collective experience. The characters will no longer be confined to a phone screen – they will become monumental and begin to help shape the urban space. I’m curious to see how this will affect the way they are perceived. The audience, the surrounding architecture, and even the very act of moving through the city will become part of the work. I think this change in scale will make the emotions more tangible and immediate.
Although each work focuses on a different theme, Oliver Latta examines the patterns we create as individuals and as a society. Some of these are beautiful, others absurd, and still others uncomfortable; yet each reveals something about how we live alongside one another. ‘Human Patterns’ explores the behaviours and emotional cycles that bind us together: desire, pressure, isolation, conflict, repetition and the need to belong. Although the works often seem surreal or absurd, they are rooted in everyday experiences and observations of contemporary life. Rather than conveying a single, specific message, I would like them to encourage viewers to pause, find something of themselves in them, and form their own interpretation. If, after viewing them, someone looks at familiar situations from a slightly different perspective, it means the work has served its purpose,’ comments Extraweg.
Kinomural. New Media Art Festival
Two nights in September, around 70 of the best artists from 22 countries and several hundred projections on the walls of buildings in the iconic Nadodrze district. The scale of this event completely changes the city’s perspective. It’s an experience not to be missed. Why? The city becomes a giant screen, and the tenement blocks come to life with light, movement and sound. Kinomural undoubtedly offers the audience a new, unique experience. It is an event where there is no set route for viewing or exploring the various nooks and crannies of this artistic labyrinth. Visitors set off on a journey and decide for themselves which way to go. The programme features six walls with an average area of 300 square metres, spanning as many as four floors (an area large enough to fit 29,000 smartphones), each telling a different story, presenting a different world and evoking different emotions. Curators oversee the selection of works, ensuring that every year we can see pieces by leading new media artists from around the world. The theme of this year’s edition is ‘The Endless Cycle’.
You can follow further festival announcements and preparations on social media: Facebook, Instagram and at www.kinomural.com.
Kinomural. New Media Art Festival
18–19 September 2026, 7.30 pm–10.00 pm
Wrocław
Free admission
source: press materials
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