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Arthur Kond

@waferhero

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Creative Director || NYC
● ● @silasveta

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“𝓑𝓛𝓞𝓞𝓜”

At the beginning of this year, I started thinking about how light could be made more visible, beyond simply filling the space with haze. After all, smoke is essentially a suspension of tiny particles in the air. But what if this suspension were made of larger particles, or even of objects hung throughout the entire space?

At that moment, my obsession with flowers immediately made itself known. There were no physical experiments here. I simply knew right away that I wanted this “suspension” to be made of flowers (artificial, of course), and that it should ideally exist in a space that is not visually suitable for it, for example, an office environment. I had already used a similar approach when I was designing the DRЁMA installation for the main stage of the Outline festival in 2019, when we “planted” a forest inside a concrete industrial hall.

What I like even more about this idea is that instead of flowers, there could be any other objects that change the context. For example, if these were childhood toys from the past, the installation would immediately gain the feeling of flashbacks breaking into everyday reality from a warm (or not so warm) past.

In the end, out of these reflections, the concept of an installation with the working title “𝓑𝓛𝓞𝓞𝓜” was born this year. I really hope that this idea will move from renders into real life very soon.

🎵 @klsr.av bliss + connections by @waferhero

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a year ago

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓷𝓾𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽

Finally sharing a project that truly matters to me and I want to thank every single link that made this castle possible! ⛓️‍💥

On December 1, the opening ceremony of the FIFA Arab Cup 2025 took place at Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar. By invitation of @katarastudios , we at @silasveta developed the scenography and visual content for this show.

From the very beginning, my goal was to create a stage design that would feel absolutely impossible for an open-roof stadium. I deliberately chose not to use screens. I wanted to create something real and physical. Based on our previous stadium experience, I knew the scale had to be powerful enough to give goosebumps from any seat in the arena.

This led to the image of a floating Arab city, a castle suspended above the field. But questions immediately began to arise. How could it be built to look symbolic and beautiful, stay within strict weight limits, remain hidden until the right moment, and then rise into the air?

Thinking about unity, I arrived at an unexpected solution: to build the entire monument out of chains. Each chain was individually sized, hung separately, and chrome-coated to reflect light. Moving with the wind, they created the feeling of a flowing waterfall. At that point, it became clear that the idea was not just possible. It worked.

The production phase was extremely fast. In the final weeks, the structure kept growing, detail by detail, getting closer to the image I had envisioned. It is a special and nerve-racking feeling to watch this process and not know until the very end if everything will come together.

At some point, I realized it was almost couture. Handcrafted work day after day. Each chain adjusted by hand. In total, 22 km of chains. During the lift, hundreds of thousands of links produced an incredible, almost hypnotic reflections and sound. You can hear it in one of the videos in the carousel. Every inch was calibrated to work visually while fitting precisely into the rigging calculations.

I am often very critical of my projects and usually know what could have been done better. But this time, I am genuinely happy and satisfied with the result 😌 taken in Al-Bayt Stadium by @waferhero

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10 months ago

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3 years ago

About two years ago at @silasveta , I came up with a kinetic installation called 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗠. Unfortunately, the project never happened due to the economic circumstances at the time, but I’ve always had a soft spot for this concept.

I also really love making these kinds of videos myself. They help me get the idea out of my head and show it as clearly as possible to everyone involved, both on the client side and within our team. And I just genuinely enjoy the process — setting up renders, animation, cameras, light. It’s still one of those things I find strangely meditative.

The idea behind 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗠 was pretty simple: two cars from different eras facing each other, with robotic arms moving around them almost like they’re studying and responding to one another. At some point their movements start to mirror each other, and lines of light connect them across the space.
A kind of conversation between past and future, woven together by one giant machine.

Big thanks to @e_pog for the help with modeling, and to @karelin_a_a for helping with the particle animation.

🎵 The Weeknd, Mike Dean — The Lure by @waferhero

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a month ago

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2 months ago

The idea for this smoke screen came to me a little under a year ago. The concept is simple: the visuals on the LED mesh are perfectly synchronized with smoke released by a matrix of smoke machines installed behind the screen.

It’s a highly experimental setup with countless technical challenges that can surface during production. And honestly, there aren’t that many events where something like this would actually make sense.

A year later, we finally had the chance to build it in @silasveta for the @outlinefestival main stage. And not “almost” built it—we actually did. Everything was assembled, calibrated, and ready to welcome the first ravers.

Then, just a few hours before the festival was due to open, it was canceled for reasons beyond the organizers’ control.

Still, none of the work was wasted. We learned exactly what needs refining and how to push this idea even further. I’m convinced the next version is going to be absolutely insane 🫨

So hopefully this smoke screen will materialize in the real world before long. Until then, here’s a short concept clip showing one of my favorite ways this setup can come to life.

Special thanks to @karelin_a_a for helping me with the smoke simulation. taken in New York, New York by @waferhero

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3 months ago

🦢 𝓢𝓦𝓐𝓝 𝓛𝓐𝓚𝓔

Throughout the spring of 2026, our production of the holographic ballet “Swan Lake” ran in Shenzhen. I had always dreamed of working on “Swan Lake” — with this music and this material. In our production, alongside the main characters Siegfried and Odette (who is also Odile), we placed a strong emphasis on the principal antagonist, Rothbart — a character who, in my view, is unjustly given too little attention in many other productions, even though he is essentially the root cause of everything that unfolds in the ballet. We took an unconventional approach and moved Rothbart entirely into a holographic dimension, which allowed us to give him an even more sinister and mystical texture. Throughout the production, he appears on stage in different guises: from a single small feather to a kind of monster combining parts of a human and a bird’s body — but always in red, a thread of sorcery stretching from the very beginning to the finale of the ballet.

A huge thank you to the entire team, without whom none of this would have been possible!

Full creative vision and execution by @silasveta
Creative Director Arthur Kond (me ☺️)
Producer @h2o_apple_rainbow
CG Supervisor @a.n.n.a.rodionova
Art Director @e_pog

Choreography by @oleggg_unofficial
Music by Tchaikovsky reimagined by @monoleak : @saveshe and @moarock
Light Design by @vinogradov__ivan
Technical Supervision by @bananabreadpro

Lead dancer Stanislava Aitova @pompaduuuur taken in Shenszhen, China by @waferhero

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4 months ago

While I’m too lazy to post my work, here are some pics from this spring. It’s actually been great 😊 taken in New York, New York by @waferhero

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6 months ago

Me and the team in Qatar, late last year 🏟️
Through the lenses of @tomrus taken in Al-Bayt Stadium by @waferhero

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9 months ago

Две с половиной недели назад не стало одного из моих самых близких друзей. Сегодня у Вити день рождения, ему исполнилось бы 32.

Долго думал, что писать по этому поводу и вообще стоит ли писать…

Спасибо, что был с нами. И как говорит Тина:

Витя на репите.

Two and a half weeks ago, one of my closest friends passed away.
Today is Vitya’s birthday — he would have turned 32.

I’ve been thinking for a long time about what to write, and whether I should write anything at all…

Thank you for being with us.
As Tina says:

Vit is on repeat. by @waferhero

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a year ago

recent dump 👊 taken in New York, New York by @waferhero

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a year ago

pinkbrained recently taken in New York, New York by @waferhero

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a year ago