SKY FALL
NFTism: no fear in trying
curated by acclaimed art writer, critic and dealer, Kenny schachter
‘Sky Fall’ is Yeo’s second digital piece to be minted as an NFT and again radically re-imagines imagery from his 2D work in an animated spatial environment.
Based on his leaf collage series of works, in which images from adult magazines are cropped and disguised as leaves in decorative patterns, the viewer is further seduced by the forward, dream like motion which doesn’t have a discernible beginning or end.
Speaking about why he was drawn to technology, Yeo explains, “There’s an incredible feeling of liberation when you realize you’re able to do things which aren’t possible in the real world, when the rules of traditional art media, or even the laws of physics, no longer apply. I started exploring 3D, digital and virtual tools for making art about 5 years ago and had no idea where any of it would lead. It wasn’t clear at that point if there would ever be an opportunity, let alone a platform, to show the work at all, which is why it’s so exciting that this is happening now and I’m fascinated to see what new genres evolve as it progresses”.
In the exhibition NFTism: No Fear in Trying, curator, artist, writer and collector Kenny Schachter brought together a diverse group of artists who work in analogue, phygital and digital media, presenting their work side-by-side in the physical gallery space, and simultaneously in a custom-built virtual exhibition space powered by Arium’s groundbreaking metaverse technology. This ‘multiverse’ exhibition experience reflected the Institut platform’s core belief of marrying the traditional physical, and progressive, digital environments.
Alongside Jonathan the exhibition featured close to 100 international artists, from those minting their very first NFT, like Jake Chapman, Henry Hudson and Caio Twombly, to recognised Crypto Artists such as Rewind Collective, Olive Allen, and IX Shells. In grouping these artists together, NFTism demonstrated the startling accessibility of the NFT art market, and the diversity of the intersectional concepts and aesthetics that currently define NFT and Crypto art.
Jonathan has made ‘Sky Fall’ available on his app Jonathan Yeo Studio (available on iOS and Android). The app was built by Yeo himself - with his small studio team - using game technology, Unity, so more content could be added. Visitors are invited into his studio to explore it for themselves. It is not just virtual reality, it is fully immersive and viewers are welcomed to experience the artwork in a completely different environment. By including the work in the app, Yeo wants to allow viewers to experience the work in augmented reality and to physically walk around it, making its 3D elements all the more prominent.
