A: I’m J. F. Novotny, a photographer and visual artist whose practice spans conceptual photography, still life, portraiture, and AI-generated imagery. My mission is to explore the latent relationships between objects, people, places and the digital tools we use—and to question what remains when time, memory and technology intervene.
A: My aesthetic is grounded in minimal composition, refined colour palettes or stark black-and-white contrast, combined with conceptual depth. Often an everyday object, camera or human figure becomes a vessel for questions about value, identity and transformation. I aim to create images that prompt reflection—not simply decoration, but invitation.
A: “weDrown” is a colour series addressing humanity’s legacy and what we leave behind. Using still-life settings I focus on absence, memory and collective residue. The phrase “we drown” becomes a metaphor for our own production and waste, as well as our relationship to time and consequence.
A: “Hate Or… (there is always an alternative)” is a socially engaged campaign series that confronts digital hostility and hate speech. I created bold visuals that challenge viewers to pause and choose a different path. Shared under Creative Commons, the project encourages public circulation and collective reflection. You can also find more on the „Hate Or“ project website…
A: “Relicts” features AI-generated imagery that imagines a world after humanity. The term “relict” suggests a remnant of a once larger lineage. In these works I blend photography and algorithmic image creation to explore themes of extinction, time-scale and legacy.
A: “Wesenheit”, from the German for “entity” or “being”, reflects on the creative role of AI and the tension between human maker and machine. These works mediate what it means to author, to generate and to see, at a time when boundaries between human and artificial blur.
A: In “Decent Decay” I address aging, material decline and beauty in entropy. Through still-life compositions showing objects in states of wear or corrosion, I invite viewers to question value beyond pristine condition, and to find dignity in the passage of time.
A: “VintagePop” emerges from a personal archive of vintage family photographs, which I re-work into pop-art-influenced collages and colour experiments. The series plays with memory, nostalgia and the intersection between analog heritage and digital re-interpretation.
A: “CameraSelfies” is a playful yet reflective series that imagines cameras themselves taking selfies—honouring the devices as comedic self-portraits of image-making technology. By anthropomorphising equipment, I pose questions about our dependency on image capture, the device as subject and the tool as identity. It is a photography series that transforms classic cameras into charismatic visual protagonists. Each image presents a legendary analog camera as if it were taking a self-portrait, set against colorfully designed backgrounds, highlighting the unique personality and historical significance of the equipment. My approach blends technical heritage with playful conceptual art, bridging nostalgic emotions and contemporary aesthetics. „CameraSelfies“ invites viewers to reflect on the evolution of photographic technology, emphasizing both the individuality of each camera and its cultural impact over time. Through this series, I try to offer a tribute to the art of photography and the enduring character of iconic cameras, engaging audiences with a mix of design, history, and creative imagination.
A: “ColorLimited” is a disciplined body of work in which I restrict myself to a narrow colour palette, toning down distractions to focus on form, texture and conceptual meaning. The limitation becomes a creative constraint—forcing new relationships between colour, shape and intent.
A: “ColorLimited: ISO” takes the palette-limitation concept further: here I parallel photographic ISO constraints with colour limitation—reducing chromatic variation and embracing grain, noise, minimal lighting and digital artefacts as part of the image aesthetic. It’s a subtle critique of perfection and a celebration of imperfection.
A: “Symbionts” is a surreal-pop-art series where I swap human faces with the “faces” of cameras and photographic apparatus. In effect the camera becomes the model, the tool becomes the subject. It questions authorship, image making and the human/device interface. The works are rendered with a reprographic digital colour halftone effect, nodding to print and mechanical reproduction. I started with my earlier series “CameraSelfies” and “ColorLimited: ISO” which treated cameras as playful protagonists. With “Symbionts” I wanted to deepen that concept: instead of the camera photographing, it becomes the photographed. It’s ironic, disorienting and invites the viewer to reconsider who is looking and who is being looked at.
A: “LeerRaum” (German for “empty space”) is a places/space series in which I explore absence, emptiness and memory in architecture and interior landscapes. It’s less about human presence and more about the lingering aura of places. The emptiness speaks volumes—what was here? What remains? The void becomes the subject. The images are often in subdued tones, minimal composition and strong structural lines. I isolate interiors, derelict spaces or transitional rooms, letting light, shadow and scale evoke emotional resonance. The place is almost a character in itself. The key term here is above all “liminal spaces.”
A: Each format offers a different resonance. Colour sparks mood and immediacy, black & white invokes timelessness, AI navigates speculative futures. By shifting format I avoid visual monotony and deepen the conceptual layer. The form becomes part of the message.
A: “Evanescence” is a series dealing with fading away—vanishing while being alone and left behind. It’s contemplative, intimate and sometimes provocative (thus the NSFW designation). The works explore transformation, disappearance, metamorphosis. I want to make visible the moment just before change. I was drawn to the idea of impermanence and how identity dissolves or shifts. The photographic nude becomes a vehicle for transience, vulnerability and transformation. It’s not meant to shock for its own sake but to invite reflection on being and unbeing, presence and absence.
A: My website’s “Sources” section links to platforms such as Saatchi Art, iCanvas and Werkladen, where selected editions and prints are offered. Galleries interested in exhibitions or acquisitions may contact me directly via the “Contact” page. Thank you for your interest; I am happy to answer any questions or suggestions you may have!
A: Yes. Through my “Commercial” portfolio I show how my visual language can align with editorial, brand, fine-art and hybrid AI-commission contexts. I welcome dialogues with clients who value concept, integrity and customized visual narratives.
A: Key highlights include an Honorable Mention in the TIPA World Awards for my self-portrait “Me and My Pentax”, and the Artist of the Year 2021 title by The Bold Modern for my “Symbionts” series. My photo series “CameraSelfies” series was first mentioned on CNN, and since then it has gone viral worldwide… in the US, Asia, all over Europe, etc. „CameraSelfies“ was also exhibited permanently at the Picture House cinema in London.. and are traveling around the world on a cruise ship 🙂 Milestones that reflect the international and cross-disciplinary breadth of my practice.
A: I aim to spark curiosity rather than provide answers. Whether engaging with a still-life object, the challenge with the AI technology or a conceptual series, I want the viewer to reflect: What is human? What is machine? What persists? What changes? Art should open windows to thought, not just decorate walls.