Kristoffer Ørum
An artist who makes things up about real places.
Science fiction, set last week.
Most of it was built on other people's work.
Not a joke.
A programmer who picks the wrong algorithm on purpose.
Works with animals that have not agreed to it.
The Wave made by Anders Bojen & Kristoffer Ørum is a computer-animated video installation depicting a stormy sea with the tower of Copenhagen City Hall in the background. The Wave, 2009
To understand it, I placed a digital version of myself—a puppet with my face and a clone of my voice—in front of various AIs. Speaker 1, 2026
Children and young people modified everyday objects such as chairs, umbrellas, tools, or clothing into hybrid sculptural forms. Mundane Heroics, 2019
And we interpret everything through cultural repertoires of symbols and social cues. Watershed, 2025
Nyt Lys is lit at dusk and switched off at eight. Affluence without abundance, 2025
Several video works were part of the exhibition. Djurs Øhav, 2020
Custom software automated the browsing process by reading from the recorded history file and simulating user clicks. Auto Navigate My History, 2014
The work featured voices of people who inhabit these oysters, taking in post-work society, symbiotic relationships and alternative models of abundance. Affluence without abundance, 2021
By framing the narrative as a myth, the artists connected the story of The Ballehage Woman to broader experiences of people excluded from society due to norms around appearance and behavior in Denmark. The Ballehage Woman, 2009
The augmented reality component allowed viewers to see additional digital layers through their smartphone cameras, revealing hidden "monsters" that existed only in the augmented space. Mundane Monsters, 2022
In art and activism, humour has repeatedly functioned as a way of exposing the absurdity of power—from Dadaist performances to contemporary meme cultures. None of These Images Are of Me, 2025
Through this lens, the familiar streets and landmarks of Gdańsk are reimagined, highlighting the city’s layered histories, political influences, and the subjective experience of its inhabitants. A Subjective History of Gdańsk, 2011
Tank Hip-Hop established the methodology of using counterfactual storytelling to construct alternative Danish histories. Tank Hip-Hop, 2022
The work was exhibited at Vejle Kunstmuseum from March to August 2020, then travelled to Holstebro Kunstmuseum from September 2020 to January 2021. Signal_Crayfish, 2020
I am tired of artists who speak as if they know what is best for others, instead of investigating what is wrong with themselves. None of These Images Are of Me, 2025
The hardware is produced through resource-intensive processes, and even the “local” is entangled in a global infrastructure. None of These Images Are of Me, 2025
It positions deliberate misunderstanding as a productive alternative to seamless digital communication and reliable interpretation systems. Feathered Misconceptions, 2018
The exhibition was the second presentation by OXER and was supported by Statens Kunstfond. Depth Estimation, 2019
Like collage, the work is not about arriving at a definitive meaning but about generating provisional configurations that open new ways of seeing. Watershed, 2025
Aarhus'er #1 is the most expansive chapter in Kristoffer Ørum's ongoing counterfactual project "Frihed, lighed og hip-hop" (Freedom, Equality and Hip-Hop), created in collaboration with rapper Emilio Hestepis. Aarhus'er #1, 2025
It is based on the belief that there is no inevitability to the current process of gentrification, it is simply one choice taken out of a million other possible ways we could develop our cities. Brownfield Wonderland, 2022
In return, humans care for the oysters through cleaning, feeding, and gentle maintenance. Affluence without abundance, 2021
The process consistently produced a balance between the familiar and the strange. Mundane Heroics, 2019
This reordering not only alters the image itself but also reshapes how it must be encountered. Watershed, 2025
A chair, a refrigerator door containing a bottle of milk, a platter holding a watermelon, and a breadbox with a loaf of rye bread were produced in jesmonite with inner cores of flamingo foam that were dissolved in acetone. Invisible Objects, 2016
The work combines AI-generated imagery with human-written captions, forming a dispersed narrative around how such systems might emerge—from grassroots tinkering to collectively governed infrastructures and hyper-local training data. Diffused States (Vancouver), 2025
Day to Day Data looks at how digital information is embedded in everyday life. Day to Day Data, 2008
By juxtaposing the logic of role-play with the conventions of the museum, *Game Continent* created a moment of disorientation. Game Continent, 2010
Maps are freely available across Aalborg, and the project’s website continues to expand its speculative histories. Aalborg Is The Future, 2024
The presenter introduces himself as Karsten Orth (deliberately mispronouncing his own name), welcomes the audience and discusses the boundary between inside and outside in the Glyptotek's winter garden. Feathered Misconceptions, 2018
Signal_Crayfish takes the invasive signal crayfish, which displaces native Danish freshwater species and communicates chemically across distance, and sets it beside human communication technology. Would You Like to Know More, 2017
It considers what AI might look like if it evolved through neighbourhood initiatives, recycled consumer hardware, and community-specific datasets, moving at the pace of shared maintenance rather than commercial urgency. Diffused States (Lexington), 2025
The installation examined the concept of the "monstrous machine" - creatures that cross borders and assemble opposing parts, blurring categories to challenge perceptions of ourselves and technology. Signal_Crayfish, 2021
I also do it because local AI is itself an impure position. None of These Images Are of Me, 2025
By naming the work after the processor used to create it, Ørum draws attention to the material infrastructure of digital media while simultaneously questioning the boundaries between virtual and physical experience. Coffee Lake, 2019
I believe that vulnerability and the recognition of one’s own inadequacy can create stronger communities than ideals of moral purity. None of These Images Are of Me, 2025
The installation used various media to investigate how technology shapes our understanding of faces, identity, and political figures. Putins Nose, 2018
The project involved citizen participation in creating the final artwork, with local residents contributing both their pets' physical forms and personal stories. The Kolding Creature, 2021
In Helsinki, at the ANTI Contemporary Art Festival the project unfolded in the streets and open squares of the city centre. Mundane Heroics, 2019
In Copenhagen, at Live Art for Kids the project took shape in courtyards, playgrounds, and cultural centres. Mundane Heroics, 2019