"One of my firmest convictions is that poetry transforms objects into art in the same way that it converts noise into music. The physical object in my work is an extension of the poem, which expands the potential of words and extends the limits of language; while poetry becomes a prolongation of the object, providing an emotive and meaningful presence."
Yucef Merhi is an artist, coder, and academic researcher. He is a pioneer of Digital Art and is known for exhibiting the first work of art that included a video game console, the Atari 2600. Since 1985, Merhi has produced a wide body of works that engage with poetry, facial recognition, AI, VR, and retro video game platforms, towards the formulation of dynamic linguistic experiences. In 1998, he developed his first “datagram,” a concept he coined to visualize the movement of hacked information. Merhi holds a Master's from NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP).
Merhi's work is represented in numerous museum and private collections, among them the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Orange County Museum of Art (Newport Beach), Library of Congress (Washington DC), Mednarodni Grafični Likovni Center - MGLC (Ljubljana), Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporáneo (Bajadoz), Galería de Arte Nacional (Caracas), and so forth. He is the recipient of several awards and fellowships, including a 2023 and 2019 Ellies Creator Award; a 2020 MIT Open Documentary Lab Fellowship; a 2018 CIFO Grant & Commissions Program Award; and a 2009 New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship in Digital/Electronic Art.