Making Nicole I & Nicole IV. Mixed Media Art with Projection Mapping

I’ve been off the grid for half a year now, developing my new work, Singularity. I decided not to post any new art online or publicly at all until the concept and style were fully formed and ready. The new approach first emerged in October 2022 when an architectural studio in the US approached me for a commission with a $50,000.00 budget for five original pieces. The project was for a new work / live development in Las Vegas, featuring luxury apartments, bars, shops, and restaurants. My pieces would be featured in the main lobby area. While they were familiar with my style, they proposed a concept different from what I usually do. They said, "The project is very much rooted in the landscape of the desert and the aesthetic of John Lautner Architecture. We are aiming for a 70s mid-century aesthetic and would love to introduce a desert/man-on-the-moon/space dust concept in the lobby for the art." They provided two landscape-style image references. I initially mentioned that I don’t do landscape art, but they explained that it was more of a starting point for me to put my own spin on it.

Strangely enough, I had worked on an astronaut concept a couple of years ago but had shelved it. I dug up the old, forgotten mood board and added new references to it. The idea was to have an astronaut as the subject and apply my style on top of it with lots of weathered, decaying surfaces and street textures. However, I realised that my current multidisciplinary skill set didn't cover what I wanted to achieve. I knew I didn't want to simply photograph a model in an astronaut suit; I wanted more creative control. To do it right, I decided to start learning 3D software. I agreed to the commission and the challenge, even though I didn't yet possess the skills needed. So, I quoted that it would take seven months to complete the commission: three months for research and development, learning the required skills, two months for digital design while still learning along the way, and two months for creating the physical art. This timeline aligned with the construction of the building work in Las Vegas, and the deadline was confirmed for October/September 2023.

I then embarked on an intensive and steep learning journey. However, I knew I didn't want to really be a 3D artist, much like I didn't want to be confined to being a photographer, painter, or collage artist. I aspired to be a culmination of various things, techniques, mediums, and technologies—whatever it takes to create the desired outcome, the tone, the vibration, the feeling one gets walking through the pitch-black exhibition space with projection light, sound, and smell cutting through the dark unknowns.

While working on the digital concepts, I found inspiration in sci-fi films and books, reigniting my passion for the cyberpunk genre. I began reading William Gibson's Neuromancer trilogy and became instantly hooked. Around this time, OpenAI's Chat GPT-4 gained widespread attention, and the timing felt surreal. The themes of cyberpunk felt increasingly relevant in this new reality. Neuromancer, written in the 80s before the internet became a household technology, coined the term "cyberspace" and introduced the idea of the matrix and predicted augmented reality headsets as part of society's everyday culture. It felt remarkably contemporary, especially with the book's central theme of the birth of general AI and humanity losing control of it.

--- You can read the full write up and view the Singularity art on my website: www.kasseus.com/singularity