Summary
Ryan Koopmans and Alice Wexell are artists who bridge the gap between the natural world and urban decay in their artwork. They transform abandoned buildings into digital masterpieces that challenge the boundaries between reality and digital artificiality. Their latest work, ‘The Origin’, combines photography, digital manipulation, and Bitcoin ordinal technology to create a dynamic on-chain artwork that reflects the passage of time in an Italian building. Through their work, Koopmans and Wexell explore the concept of legacy and preservation in the digital age. They believe that digital art can achieve the same emotional and cultural significance as physical art, and they see the role of digital art expanding in the future. They chose to inscribe their artwork on Bitcoin as a way to preserve and immortalize it, and they believe that digital artworks will attain similar cultural significance as physical artworks.
Key Points
1. Ryan Koopmans and Alice Wexell’s artwork bridges the gap between the natural world and urban decay, transforming abandoned places into digital masterpieces that question the boundaries between reality and digital artificiality.
2. Their project, “The Wild Within,” involves photographing abandoned buildings in countries that have undergone dramatic transitions and then digitally introducing vegetation and modifying the structure and lighting to revive the empty spaces.
3. By inscribing their artwork into the immutable ledger of Bitcoin, Koopmans and Wexell explore the concept of legacy and preservation in the digital age, challenging traditional notions of the value and permanence of art and inviting us to question our concepts of time, memory, and heritage.