LATEST SYNTHOGRAPHIC VIDEOWORKS

CLIENT: ELLIE SEDGWICK - COMFORTABLE IN MY SKIN

Australian sexual empowerment photographer Ellie Sedgwick sought something magical to reveal the cover of her debut photography book, celebrating vulva diversity.

The Lost Futures collaborated closely with Ellie to create a custom Cyberdelic Hyperloop, paired with a custom composed Twin Peaks-inspired soundtrack set to the opening words from her book.

When revealed to her 90,000+ followers, the response was phenomenal—hundreds of fans commented on the mesmerizing, mysterious blend of words, visuals, and sound.

This sparked an influx of requests from Ellie’s followers, eager to develop their own hyperloops for their channels—and now, several are in production!

(For the best experience on mobile devices, tap the full-screen icon)

CLIENT: CHERRELLE CHAMPAGNE

Philadelphia-based artist and model Cherrelle Champagne from Can’t Colonize The Vibe has been a friend of The Lost Futures since our very first days!

To promote her new single, Best Friend, we built a Low-Rank Adaptation model from 180 images of Cherrelle, transforming her into a fully synthographic representation. In this hyperloop, she dances to her own song, shapeshifting through over 30 different outfits.

Her reaction says it all:

“Omg!!! Wow!! This is amazing! I’m so mind-blown! It looks so much like me!! I am unbelievably impressed,” she said.

(For the best experience on mobile devices, tap the full-screen icon)

WORLDWITHINWORLD aka ‘AI SLOP’ (2024)

CYBERDELIC HYPERLOOP AND ORIGINAL SOUND DESIGN DEVELOPED AND COMPOSED BY ARTIST LUKE BURTON

‘MONEY IS YOUR GOD’ (2024)

CYBERDELIC HYPERLOOP - FROM THE LOST FUTURES AUDIO/VIDEO WORK ‘BUSINESS SCHOOL (TERM ONE)’

‘PERFORMANCE REVIEW’ (2024)

CYBERDELIC HYPERLOOP - FROM THE LOST FUTURES AUDIO/VIDEO WORK ‘BUSINESS SCHOOL (TERM ONE)’

‘A TANDEM FEVER’ (2024)

CYBERDELIC HYPERLOOP BY THE LOST FUTURES IN COLLABORATION WITH DIGIKORE UNITED, SWEDEN

‘FUTRONIC HAUNTOLOGY’ FROM THE ‘TELEVISUAL MEMORY’ VIDEO SERIES / PERFORMANCE WORK (2024)

ABOUT THE LOST FUTURES

The Lost Futures is a innovative multimedia art, film and music performance project developed by Sydney based artist, composer and filmmaker, Luke Burton (Nee Jesse Chard).

Launched in May 2024 at Vivid Sydney, The Lost Futures recently celebrated a signing with New York agency Superheroes to develop a range of cutting edge innovations in visual synthography for their wide range of high-profile clients.

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The sources below provide a chronological overview of Luke Burton’s career, highlighting how his experiences have shaped his artistic output.

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Showing keen interest in music, synthesiers and performance since the age of 9, Burton's early interest in music production was nurtured by his parents' introduction to Rick Brewster, guitarist of the Australian rock group The Angels.

This mentorship provided him with a foundational understanding of music technology and recording.

His first thrash metal group, Divinity, with best friends Lance Whitworth and Peter Teys, recorded its self titled EP in 1996 to acclaim and the band performed a range of shows at underground settings as teenagers.

Forming The Chaos Technicians in 2001, Burton expanded into electronic music, immersing himself in Sydney's underground music scene across a range of performances, some at Sydney's now legendary Graffiti Hall Of Fame.

His creative exploration continued in 2005 with The Strange, an industrial avant-garde band formed in collaboration with artist Alex Wain.

In 2010, Burton shifted his focus to documentary filmmaking, working with prominent organizations like World Nomads, National Geographic and Lonely Planet. This period honed his storytelling skills and exposed him to the power of visual media.

A near-fatal staph infection contracted during a Tokyo documentary shoot in 2016 served as a turning point in Burton's life. This experience led him to dedicate himself fully to his artistic vision.

In 2019, a transformative psychedelic experience ignited a new wave of creativity, leading to the creation of his audiovisual project, The Vidiot. Burton's performances, which fused visual punk with chaotic soundscapes, captivated audiences Australia wide, culminating in performances at Hobart's Dark Mofo, and with TISM frontman Damian Cowell.

His research into hauntology, a concept popularized by philosopher Mark Fisher, significantly influenced his artistic direction, particularly his reflections on unfulfilled potential, and the idea of lost media and discarded broadcasts as fuel to create reconstituted meaning.

In 2023, Burton's exploration of documentary, experimental visual design and realtime live composition performance culminated in the "Televisual Memory of Our Lost Futures," show, a precursor to his project, The Lost Futures.

The Lost Futures also stands as a testament to Burton's multifaceted artistic journey. The project blends digital punk, electroclash, and futuristic pop, influenced by a diverse range of artists like John Maus, Devo, Midnight Oil, Depeche Mode, and Aphex Twin.

Beyond its musical innovation, The Lost Futures incorporates "cyberdelic hyperloops," a synthographic technique using AI and machine learning to generate visuals. This controversial method - polarizing due to the ongoing debate around AI ethics in creativity - has drawn attention for its ability to create bizarre and otherworldly imagery in a vivid style.

The project, a wide commentary on late stage capitalism and the crunch of modernity, also critiques the cultural restrictions imposed on Sydney's nightlife and the detrimental impact of poker machines on live music venues.

This social commentary underscores Burton's longstanding advocacy for artistic freedom and the preservation of cultural spaces.

Luke Burton's artistic trajectory reveals a profound connection between his personal challenges, creative explorations, and evolving worldview.

His work is not merely a reflection of his artistic skills but also a testament to his resilience and his commitment to pushing boundaries in music, visual art, and social commentary.

THE LATEST EPISODE OF THE LOST FUTURES RADIO HOUR

‘THE NEW NORMAL’ MUSIC COMPOSITION AND SYNTHOGRAPHIC VIDEO CLIP
(PERFORMED BY VEKTOR)

‘FEEDING MACHINES’ (2024)

Sublimation dye transfer on ChromaLuxe aluminum plates

‘THE CYBERDELIC ESCAPE FROM THE SELF REPLICATING GOBLIN COSSACKS’ (SERIES, 2023)

Sublimation dye transfer on ChromaLuxe aluminum plates

From the artist + Lost Futures founder Luke Burton:

“My great, great grandfather, Benjamin Bresinskie B. 1857, in Belarus/Russia, was born into a family of Cossack military aristocracy (and criminal underground).

Deeply dissatisfied with his fated life and his burning need to become an artist, he fled his family in the night and into the cold Belarusian winter.

To find shelter with limited options, he found a horse in a creek, gutted it and slept in it to survive. Later he would flee to Austria where he met my great, great grandmother, Ermestina, an Austrian Jew.

They moved to Australia in 1904 and became naturalised citizens. Benjamin would fulfill his wish and became an artist/set designer and decorator for Melbourne theatres.

This work seeks to represent the phantasms that haunt the ancestral memory, the pursuit and the dread that Benjamin must have felt facing the certain death if he was recaptured by his family. And the desperate pursuit to fulfill an existential purpose that cannot be ignored.

In the ancestral memory, the phantasms become a byproduct of the ontological experience of the fulfilment of purpose. Diluted across generations, the phantasms become operators of the cyberdelic medulla oblongata, and take shape in a free association.”

BELOW IS A SELECTION OF OTHER VISUAL WORKS FROM THE LOST FUTURES

CONTACT THE LOST FUTURES

FOR BOOKINGS, CUSTOM WORKS, COLLABORATIONS, QUESTIONS ON PRICING, INSTALLATIONS AND GENERAL FEEDBACK