# Deafbeef

> Toronto artist and engineer whose onchain C programs generate sound and image works, known for Synth Poems, Glitchbox and Chronophotograph.

- Page: https://www.gondi.xyz/artist/deafbeef
- Works on GONDI: 5,713
- Collectors: 1,930
- About page: https://www.gondi.xyz/artist/deafbeef/about

## About

0xDEAFBEEF is a pseudonymous artist and engineer based in Toronto. He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a master's from the University of Toronto, where he worked on computer animation research, and he brings a long background in music, sound recording and blacksmithing. He started DEAFBEEF in 2020 with a deliberately small kit: a cheap Linux laptop, the emacs editor and a C compiler.

His programs write raw numbers that become sound and moving images, and the code behind each piece lives on Ethereum, so the media can be regenerated from the chain alone. The [DEAFBEEF](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/deafbeef.md) contract holds six series released in 2021, which a Sotheby's catalogue treats as a single work, like an album: *Synth Poems*, *Angular*, *Transmission*, *Entropy*, *Glitchbox* and *Advection*. *Synth Poems* pairs short synthesizer pieces with oscilloscope traces, and each *Entropy* token loses quality whenever it changes hands. Phillips sold *Advection* Token 222 in London in 2022, and Sotheby's sold *Angular* Token 134 in 2023.

In 2023 he made *Noumenon* and [*Chronophotograph*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/chronophotograph.md) for LACMA's Remembrance of Things Future initiative with Cactoid Labs, drawing on Eadweard Muybridge's motion studies. Owners of the 16 *Noumenon* animations trigger an onchain shutter to capture new still sequences. [*HASHMARKS*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/hashmarks-deafbeef.md) links 100 hand forged iron sculptures to tokens and was presented with Bright Moments in Patagonia.

Other projects include [*FIRST*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/firstproject.md), satirical generated texts whose proceeds go to GiveDirectly, the slot machine collection [*DEGENERATIVE*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/deafbeefdegen.md), and [*PAYPHONE*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/payphone-deafbeef.md), where anyone can call him on the blockchain and leave a prompt that may become a new work.

## At a glance

- Practice: Generative audiovisual art written in C and stored onchain, plus forged iron
- Based in: Toronto, Canada
- Active since: 2020
- Platforms: deafbeef.com, Feral File, Bright Moments
- Education: BASc Electrical Engineering, University of Toronto, MSc, University of Toronto

## Notable works

- 2021: [DEAFBEEF Series 4: Glitchbox](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/deafbeef.md)
- 2021: [DEAFBEEF Series 5: Advection](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/deafbeef.md)
- 2021: [DEAFBEEF Series 1: Angular](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/deafbeef.md)
- 2021: [DEAFBEEF Series 0: Synth Poems](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/deafbeef.md)
- 2023: [Noumenon and Chronophotograph](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/chronophotograph.md), LACMA and Cactoid Labs

## Top sales

- 2022: [DEAFBEEF Series 5: Advection - Token 222](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/deafbeef/222.md), Phillips, £252,000 ($307,157)
- 2023: [DEAFBEEF Series 1: Angular - Token 134](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/deafbeef/134.md), Sotheby's, $241,300
- 2025: [DEAFBEEF Series 2: Transmission - Token 140](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/deafbeef/140.md), 18 ETH (about $70,300)
- 2024: [DEAFBEEF Series 4: Glitchbox - Token 208](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/deafbeef/208.md), 14.2 WETH (about $49,700)
- 2024: [DEAFBEEF Series 4: Glitchbox - Token 160](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/deafbeef/160.md), 15 ETH (about $46,400)
- 2025: [DEAFBEEF Series 0: Synth Poems - Token 4](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/deafbeef/4.md), 7.49 ETH (about $34,400)

## Exhibitions

- 2025: [Infinite Images: The Art of Algorithms, a group show](https://detroitartreview.com/2025/08/infinite-images-the-art-of-algorithms-toledo-museum-of-art/), Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH
- 2023: [Remembrance of Things Future: Noumenon and Chronophotograph](https://jingdailyculture.com/los-angeles-county-museum-of-art-and-cactoid-labs-kick-off-nft-art-exhibition/), LACMA and Cactoid Labs, Los Angeles, CA
- 2022: [On Screen Presence, curated by Regina Harsanyi, with Sketches in Iron](https://feralfile.com/exhibitions/on-screen-presence-kpb), Feral File
- 2021: [The Red Room, with the video Short "Film"](https://deafbeef.com), High Zero Foundation

## Collaborations

- 2023: [HASHMARKS, 100 hand forged iron sculptures linked to tokens, presented with Bright Moments in Patagonia](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/hashmarks-deafbeef.md), Bright Moments
- 2023: [Noumenon and Chronophotograph, made for LACMA's Remembrance of Things Future with Cactoid Labs](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/chronophotograph.md), LACMA and Cactoid Labs

## Press & resources

- 2023: [When Tyler Hobbs Met 0xDEAFBEEF](https://www.rightclicksave.com/article/when-tyler-hobbs-met-0xdeafbeef-generative-art-interview), Right Click Save
- 2023: [Mad scientist's NFTs degrade when they're traded: 0xDEAFBEEF, NFT Creator](https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/mad-scientists-nfts-degrade-when-theyre-traded-0xdeafbeef-nft-creator/), Cointelegraph Magazine
- 2023: [Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Cactoid Labs Kick Off NFT Art Exhibition](https://jingdailyculture.com/los-angeles-county-museum-of-art-and-cactoid-labs-kick-off-nft-art-exhibition/), Jing Daily Culture
- 2023: [LACMA Ventures Deeper Into NFT Art With Experimental Deafbeef Collection](https://decrypt.co/138903/lacma-deafbeef-nft-art), Decrypt

## Milestones

- 2020: [Starts DEAFBEEF as an art project at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic](https://deafbeef.com/about.htm)
- 2021: [Releases Series 0: Synth Poems, 128 works whose code is stored on Ethereum](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/deafbeef.md)
- 2021: [A full set of the six series sells for 2,275 ETH, about $6.8M; the buyer is later named as Alan Howard](https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/mad-scientists-nfts-degrade-when-theyre-traded-0xdeafbeef-nft-creator/)
- 2021: [Releases FIRST; all primary sales and royalties go to GiveDirectly, over $1.4M so far](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/firstproject.md)
- 2021: [Releases DEGENERATIVE, a collection of generative slot machines](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/deafbeefdegen.md)
- 2022: [Opens PAYPHONE, where anyone can call him on the blockchain and leave a prompt that may become a new work](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/payphone-deafbeef.md)
- 2023: [Sotheby's sells Series 1: Angular - Token 134 in the first Grails sale](https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/contemporary-day-auction-2/series-1-angular-token-134), Sotheby's
- 2023: [Releases Noumenon and Chronophotograph with LACMA and Cactoid Labs](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/chronophotograph.md)
- 2023: [Releases HASHMARKS, 100 hand forged iron sculptures linked to tokens](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/hashmarks-deafbeef.md)
- 2025: [Releases HISTORIC EVENT, stop-motion animations of junk performed live and synchronized with Ethereum](https://deafbeef.com)

## Links

- [deafbeef.com](https://deafbeef.com)
- [X](https://x.com/_deafbeef)
- [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/_deafbeef)

Data from GONDI (https://www.gondi.xyz), Oct 28, 2026.