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Born in Mantua and living in close by provincial town, Matteo Massali AKA Sick Oscillator Boy has been recognized in digital art space for his unusual and thought-provoking artworks on themes of post-human, digital ecosystems bringing light upon our ongoing post-truth era.

His recent vision of work is yet another provocative series of art called Cryptocracy a series of AI-generated artworks that not only mock the digital currency hype but also the illiteracy of it amongst people. As the consequent expansion of such hyperspace, he adds is another reason why we will continue to see an acceleration of experimental narratives in digital art.

The social media culture often sells fake and exaggerated or twisted truths. Matteo adds to a world that stimulates the integration of technology and innovation as a sophisticated area of practice. The AI that has significantly become an important part of innovative storytelling has also provided us with a much better insight into it, as a complex entity that forces us to think straight, leading to a transcendental cyberspace.

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The Cryptocracy project came to life rather spontaneously, When Matteo was scrolling through reels on social media. He thought of it as prompting examples of people who have become wealthy through cryptocurrency trading, reselling, Pokémon cards, or limited edition shoes. He noticed that this social narrative, which promotes rapid enrichment, completely excludes ordinary people who have ordinary jobs. There is a (completely fabricated) world of people who have found the philosopher's stone and a world of people who desire what these individuals appear to possess.

The notion of the different spectrums of life and class within our communities inspired him to create a series of micro video episodes in the form of humorous sketches that highlight, through simple concepts and paradoxical situations, the absurdity of the times we live in. ‘I am neither nostalgic nor a restorer nor a populist, but I always try to counter, using the means I know, the uncritical stances towards hypothetical economic and cultural revolutions, especially when they hide behind the old and established capitalist mechanisms.’ He comments.

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The Cryptocracy series unfolds with a first episode very similar to the advertisements that circulate in reels, which extol the possibilities of easy enrichment through cryptocurrencies. He liked the idea that the actors in the commercial would be a group of homeless people and serial hoarders.

The second episode collects the gratitude of the app's CEOs for the numerous unsuccessful investments made by those who believed in the app. The CEOs of Cryptocracy Have diversified their investments in the weapons market to create a better world.

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The third episode tells the story of an investor who lost everything thanks to the app but is convinced, through a sort of psychoanalytic session, to give the world of cryptocurrencies another try by exploiting his desire to possess useless things.

The fourth episode is about a school where the new economy is taught through Pokémon adventures. The last episode answers how to survive when artificial intelligence eliminates you from the world of work. All the videos (to add an underlying message) have been created using Midjourney and made to make the subjects speak.

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As human intelligence and machine learning continue to evolve and thrive through such narration and experimentation, We are brought to face the need for digital hygiene and education that might not be a well-accepted or widely understood phenomenon yet. The mass consumption and production nudge people to create, irrespective of resonance, relevance and reality of the third and virtual world. Sick Oscillatory Boy provides a clear perspective in a humours way.