Ed Atkins, artist.

Ed Atkins, artist.

From My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin by Simon Parkin

March 17, 2026 · 1h 25m · Episode 152

About this episode

The episode features Ed Atkins, a contemporary artist known for his digital videos and exploration of human experience in the age of technology.

Ed Atkins is a British contemporary artist known for his haunting, hyperreal digital videos—works that combine computer-generated bodies, poetic monologues, and a profound sense of longing, absurdity, and decay. Since the early 2010s, his art has been exhibited at major institutions around the world, including Tate Britain and MoMA , and he’s taken part in various festivals, including the Venice Biennale , the Holland Festival , and Manchester International Festival . He’s also written a series of books of poetry and memoir, most recently ‘ Flower ’, which he describes as an anti-memoir. Working across video, text, and performance, he often explores what it means to be human in an age of simulation and screens, where flesh, feeling, and code are increasingly intertwined.  Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Simon Parkin

Guest: Ed Atkins

Topics covered

  • contemporary art
  • digital video
  • human experience
  • simulation
  • poetry
  • performance

Keywords

  • Ed Atkins
  • digital art
  • hyperreal videos
  • poetic monologues
  • anti-memoir
  • contemporary artist
  • simulation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tate Britain, MoMA

Books & works: Flower

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