Operator
Works
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OperatorGenerative Choreography Method, 2025Painting (acrylic on canvas), performance artefact, NFT certificate175 x 240 cm
68 7/8 x 94 1/2 in
Operator's Generative Choreography Method is the technical backbone of Human Unreadable which makes choreography collectable. The hand drawn method is on view whenever Human Unreadable is exhibited (thus far Basel, Seoul, Miami, Geneva). At Art Basel Hong Kong, Dejha Ti painted the method on a large scale canvas that contains graphic and textured acrylic paint. This piece will be used as a visual centerpiece of the performance, added to on stage, and signed afterwards. For the first time, this method painting is offered as a collectable artwork/performance artefact. Post-performance the canvas is stretched on a wooden frame. -
OperatorRepeat as necessary #1 - Find the slowest breather, join them, 2025Unique artwork entirely rendered on-chain, capturing a precise moment within the 27-minute live performance presented at Scorpios Bodrum, Turkey.
A unique fine art signed print is available for an additional $375 plus shipping. -
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OperatorRepeat as necessary #16 - Synchronization arrives, unexpected grace, 2025Unique artwork entirely rendered on-chain, capturing a precise moment within the 27-minute live performance presented at Scorpios Bodrum, Turkey.
A unique fine art signed print is available for an additional $375 plus shipping. -
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OperatorRepeat as necessary #20 - An invisible field rearranges my bones, 2025Unique artwork entirely rendered on-chain, capturing a precise moment within the 27-minute live performance presented at Scorpios Bodrum, Turkey.
A unique fine art signed print is available for an additional $375 plus shipping. -
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OperatorRepeat as necessary #22 - Something moves through me, not me, 2025Unique artwork entirely rendered on-chain, capturing a precise moment within the 27-minute live performance presented at Scorpios Bodrum, Turkey.
A unique fine art signed print is available for an additional $375 plus shipping. -
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OperatorRepeat as necessary #24 - Between heartbeats, fences dissolve, 2025Unique artwork entirely rendered on-chain, capturing a precise moment within the 27-minute live performance presented at Scorpios Bodrum, Turkey.
A unique fine art signed print is available for an additional $375 plus shipping. -
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OperatorRepeat as necessary #28 - One breath across a million lungs, 2025Unique artwork entirely rendered on-chain, capturing a precise moment within the 27-minute live performance presented at Scorpios Bodrum, Turkey.
A unique fine art signed print is available for an additional $375 plus shipping. -
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OperatorRepeat as necessary #35 - What was formerly scattered shadows, light , 2025Unique artwork entirely rendered on-chain, capturing a precise moment within the 27-minute live performance presented at Scorpios Bodrum, Turkey.
A unique fine art signed print is available for an additional $375 plus shipping. -
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OperatorRepeat as necessary, 2026Repeat as Necessary is a 31-minute live performance and permanent on-chain infrastructure by Operator. It uses movement, sound, and costume to guide an audience's nervous system through a collective experience of presence: activating mirror neuron networks, autonomic regulation, and neural entrainment without doctrine, belief, or cultural gatekeeping. Just a body, and the willingness to stay still.
The work begins from a radical premise: the body is a formidable instance of technology, the most ancient, democratic, and universally shared. In this work, choreography becomes an instruction manual for forgotten circuitry. The rhythmic architectures of sacred chant and Sufi sema music are reimagined not as religion, but as sonic architecture for nervous system attunement. What is notated is not what the dancers' bodies are doing, but what is happening inside the bodies of the audience. It is a score for the nervous system of everyone present.
The works of performance depend on foundations, gatekeepers, and living memory, and when those systems fail, the work is lost. Operator built something different. The Performance Operating System is a 1/1 NFT and registry contract that functions as a living interface, maintaining the structure and location of every component in the system across ten smart contracts on Ethereum, with a 200-year Arweave backup. One collector holds the complete architecture for restaging the work. The registry defines roles for a steward or archivist who can continue adding to the contracts, updating data, and extending the system over time. No external server. No IPFS. No gatekeeper.
The 31-minute work is encoded into the 40 Notations: fully on-chain visual scores, each a choreographic notation and standalone artwork rendered as SVG directly from contract data. A 60-page Notation Legend maps every visual element across all four chapters. What is notated is not only what the performers do, but what happens inside everyone present.
The Performance Operating System is an open protocol. Any artist or institution can adopt the architecture for their own work. Operator built a system that gives performance cultures autonomy over their own survival. It is not documentation of a past performance, but the engine for future ones.
Further documentation: https://docsend.com/view/ycee2975t4gz73ns
Collection of 40 Notations: https://opensea.io/collection/repeat-as-necessary-by-operator
Tools
Choreography & Performance: Live performance, human body
Smart Contract Development: Solidity, SSTORE2, LibZip (Solady), Python
Storage: Ethereum, Arweave, GitHub
On-Chain Rendering: SVG generation from compressed contract data
Visual & Notation Development: Charcoal, paper, ASCII blueprinting, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, projection
AI (Claude): Formation blueprint development, information system management
Operator Choreography Method: Proprietary framework for motion data processing, on-chain choreographic storage, and performance-to-infrastructure translation (est. 2023)
Motion Capture & 3D: Move AI, Computer vision, Blender (data cleanup)
Sound & Music: Ableton Live
Costume & Textile: Custom costume design, fabric, textile construction
Documentation: Videography, photography, Adobe Premiere Pro -
OperatorHuman Unreadable #208 Act 1Human Unreadable is a three-act, embodied generative artwork hiding the human body in plain sight (on-chain). Bringing together choreography, code, blockchain, generative art, and cryptography, the work culminates in a live performance. Each output is driven by the motion data of its underlying unique, on-chain choreographic sequence. The sequences behind the first 100 minted works will be performed during the IRL premiere. Date and hosting institution to be announced.
Human Unreadable has roots in various histories such as computational choreography (Analivia Cordeiro, Jeanne Beaman), Merce Cunningham's Chance Dance, and the Experiments in Art and Technology movement. With Ti’s background as an HCI technologist and multimedia artist and Catherine’s background as a choreographer and performance artist, Operator architected a bespoke team, 25+ individuals ranging from specialized engineers to dancers, who embarked on a highly experimental process to realize the work. Operator's on-chain generative choreography method is the technical backbone of Human Unreadable—the process and open source tooling for which are being made available to other artists and institutions. Operator's method was utilized in 2024 by sculptor Hermine Bourdin for her collaboration with the Paris Opera.
Operator hints at a future where the economics of performing arts are transformed via technology, with new opportunities for artists who work in ephemeral mediums to develop sustainable practices.150cm × 116.25cm
Biography
Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti are an award-winning experiential artist duo whose collaborative art practice, known as Operator, was founded in 2016. Operator collides their talents into large-scale conceptual works with a signature, poetic approach to technology, earning them Lumen Prize twice, lectures at University of Cambridge, and main stage presentations at Art Basel. Referred to as “the two critical contemporary voices on digital art’s international stages” (Clot Magazine) the duo created a method for choreography to become collectable using blockchain and works at the forefront of global conversation around performance and technology.
For their most recent work Human Unreadable, they created an on-chain generative choreography method. Operator has been awarded The Lumen Prize (Generative Art in 2023, Immersive Environments in 2021) ADC Awards (Gold Cube), S+T+ARTS Prize (Honorary Mention), and MediaFutures. They have spoken at events and institutions including University of Cambridge, Christie's Art+Tech Summit, Art Basel, ZKM, Francisco Carolinum Museum, Bloomberg ART+TECHNOLOGY, and MIT Open Doc Lab. Originally from Los Angeles and currently based in Madrid, Spain.
