Grimes joining LinkedIn is artwashing at its most brazen. I should know – I released my new film there

Grimes joining LinkedIn is artwashing at its most brazen. I should know – I released my new film there

By Guardian staff reporter
Publication Date: 2026-04-20 07:00:00

WAs electronic musician Grimes – aka Claire Boucher – told Elon Musk last year, Elon Musk’s ex-partner may have made good on her promise. Last month, a profile claiming to be the 38-year-old appeared on the world’s least pleasant social networking platform. His only contribution to date is promoting an appearance at Nvidia’s GPU Technology Conference – Nvidia is the most valuable company in the world and the engine behind almost all AI applications.

Switching to LinkedIn might seem like a depressing experience for an artist: a bit like moving in with your Boomer grandparents. And that’s it. I should know, because in one of the most counterintuitive boasts I’ve made in my two-decade career as an artist, I did it first.

My latest art project, Image Empire – a public information film about 3D worlds and AI deepfakes, …