Adam Zakrewski/ERTHMVR
Koffee? on Audobon
New Haven
Through August 2026
According to Adam Zakrewski, aka ERTHMVR, the planet is trippy. In an exhibit of "circuit-bent" photography on display this month at Koffee?, he takes us for a ride of some of that tripiness.
Circuit bending a camera means to modify its hardware. The art of circuit bending challenges perfectionism by inviting both predictable and unexpected glitches in each frame.
This technique drives the quiet mystery behind much of ERTHMVR's work: I'm uncertain of what has been manipulated in software, versus tinkered with in hardware, before the shutter clicks. That's where the fun is.
"Bloom" (pictured above) is probably the inside of the best kaleidoscope that doesn't exist. Surprisingly, it photographs more vividly than in person. The orange in the petals resembles the goop of a spider web, or the markings of a butterfly wing. Some unnatural and unsettling forms emerged the longer I stared, and I almost felt bad the picture was looking more grotesque. If this photo is of a flower, could I still love it like this?
"Deer Church" is haunting, and with many blinks, left an impression in my eyelids similar to that of a Rorschach test. The background looked like it could be anything from the topography of a lush forest, or a few cells under an unfocused microscope lens. But laid over it were repeated square photos of deer. Some were caught in mid-motion, but the one in the center acknowledged the human taking its photo. That deer blended in with the church doors, but I couldn't tell if it made it inside. Black masses gave way to white and grey pixels, and deer in motion had blurred edges with more dots. Everything had grain except for the smooth, slanted edges of the church building.
An untitled piece left me questioning whether we "LOVE[D] THE PLANET," or destroyed it. By imagining myself as the figure, I think, Look at how far we've come! What a ride the hero's journey is. But the destruction is hard to ignore. The molten lava sloshing under the cracking rock, billowing smoke, barren pines. This is the destruction that we have left in our wake. And how uncanny it is to see this much variation in Earth all at once. But instead of adopting my projected doom and gloom, you're also allowed to think it's all beautiful, too.
It just so happens that "Lake in the Clouds" is hung right below it. Perhaps this minimally retouched photo serves as a reminder of the world's natural beauty. But also fleeting.
