LaTurbo Avedon is an avatar and artist who has worked exclusively on the internet for more than a decade, declining to disclose any identity beyond the nonbinary virtual persona they present in public.,They create work across virtual worlds such as Second Life, Fortnite and Star Citizen, and show it in galleries and museums across the United States and Europe.
Kelani Nichole, founder of the gallery Transfer, has worked with Avedon for more than eight years since meeting them as an avatar in Second Life, where they were working on an installation later projected into a physical show in Brooklyn. Nichole calls Avedon “very prescient”, comparing their virtual-identity practice to Cindy Sherman's approach to character and persona.Avedon curates and designs Panther Modern, a file-based exhibition space in which each new project adds a uniquely modeled room to the growing 3D structure, encouraging artists to create site-specific installations for the internet.,,
Beginning in 2021, Avedon started creating Materia, a long-form simulation of blockchain-linked virtual artifacts that carry meaning and application within their simulated worlds. The first set, Born Without Stars (2021), comprised twelve objects named after the zodiac signs.In 2022, arebyte commissioned “Club Zero”, in which three new avatars, introduced as “non-fungible people”, were developed live on Twitch through sessions that let viewers help decide each character's shape, appearance and identity.,
In 2016, transmediale and CTM Festival commissioned Still Be Here, a performance project built around virtual pop star Hatsune Miku from an idea by Mari Matsutoya, collectively created with musician Laurel Halo and choreographer Darren Johnston, and produced by Martin Sulzer.In 2020, Avedon created Your Progress Will Be Saved, a Fortnite installation for the Manchester International Festival that reimagined the festival's disused Factory site as a contemplative, exploratory space rather than a battle arena.,Their work has also been shown at the Whitney Museum.
Avedon has largely resisted commercial overtures, turning down approaches from celebrities and companies while accepting bitcoin as payment for art as early as 2013. They have taken part in projects such as “Pieces of Me”, a show at Transfer that questioned the values of the NFT marketplace.
