Androids by Ari Dykier
A future dreamed into motion
Step into a world that feels familiar and strange all at once—a place shaped by memory, imagination, and questions about what comes next.
Ari Dykier is a visual artist and animator based in Warsaw, Poland, whose work lives at the intersection of surreal animation, experimental film, and dream logic. Drawing on vintage illustrations, childhood fairy tales, and the visual language of early cinema, Ari creates animated worlds that feel like fragments of a dream you almost remember.
Originally trained as a filmmaker, Ari shifted his focus toward animated visuals more than a decade ago, developing a practice that blends digital techniques with hand-drawn animation. His work is rooted in storytelling, but not the linear kind. Instead, it unfolds emotionally, inviting viewers into a timeless space where imagination has no beginning and no end. Only now.
Illustration courtesy of the artist
Androids: imagining coexistence
For the Portland Winter Light Festival, Ari presents Androids, a large-scale animated projection that envisions a future where humans and human-shaped machines coexist in peace and harmony.
Projected onto the American Bank Building and transforming Pioneer Courthouse Square into a cinematic backdrop, Androids explores a world shaped by artificial intelligence, robotics, and radical imagination. The animation reflects on a moment in human history that feels like a turning point. As machines become more advanced, more intelligent, and more human-like, Ari asks more profound questions about tolerance, acceptance, and what it truly means to be human.
Is this a loss of humanity, or a rebirth?
Through surreal visuals and poetic symbolism, Androids becomes less about technology and more about empathy. It is a vision of the future grounded in hope, curiosity, and the possibility of shared existence.
A rare moment, right here
This marks only the second time Ari Dykier has presented work in the United States, and his first appearance on the West Coast. We’re thrilled to welcome his work to Portland, where it will become part of the shared experience of gathering, wandering, and wondering together under winter skies.
Where Can You See It?
Androids will be projected at Pioneer Courthouse Square, transforming the American Bank Building into a living canvas.
February 6–7 and February 13–14
A community-powered event
Thanks to support from individuals like you- families, local businesses, art-lovers, community partners and sponsors, the Light Festival exists.
Contributions help:
- Present over 150 FREE light-based art installations and performances citywide
- Support emerging and established artists with stipends and production resources
- Activate public spaces, small businesses and vacant storefronts during winter
- Create inclusive, family-friendly experiences that welcome people of all ages
