Recently I had the pleasure of moderating some of the talks at this year's CopenX Realities conference, organized by CopenX, in Børsen, Copenhagen. The conference explores the frontier of XR technology (virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, etc.) and this year's edition was no exception. One of the interviews, while starting in person on the stage, moved into virtual reality and, one can argue, the metaverse.
In a jam-packed program of demos, talks, and panels, I interviewed digital artist Jacob la Cour and NFT-artist Rune Brink Hansen aka. Spøgelsesmaskinen. Both were really interesting conversations that showed the depth of these two talented and unconventionally thinking minds.
With Rune, we talked about how the NFT-format (non-fungible tokens) has created global communities of otherwise marginalized artists, who through the blockchain support each other both creatively and financially by giving each other feedback as well as buying tokens from each other across the network. As an example, Rune lead the Afghanft.art project where over 200 NFT-artists gave away their art to support those in need in Afghanistan during the chaotic transition from NATO occupation towards self-governance (and, ultimately, ISIS-control).
With Jakob, we talked about the spiritual dimensions of the human being in the metaverse, which is one of the main objects of his artistic practice. He explores the frontier of digital embodiment, transformational processes related to the alternating realities of the analog and virtual, and even the concept of technoshamanism; a cultural movement exploring the link between technology and spirituality. To underline these reflections, Jakob had set up VR equipment on stage up for us to conduct the main part of the interview in virtual reality - see image above. The audience could then see our view from the goggles on the screens. Quite fun.
To learn more about Rune Brink Hansen and his work as Spøgelsesmaskinen, go here.
And to learn more about Jakob la Cour's artistic practice, go here.
CopenX can be found here. And check out this 2-minute video recap of the day:
