So which is it? While arguments against AI art make all the sense in the world and ring rather true, there are always two sides to the coin.

Popular opinion: AI art isn’t real art

One of the starkest criticisms that AI art faces are the argument that it will destroy the creative industry, particularly that of painting. If an artist takes hours, days, weeks, or months to create a piece – not to mention the years of the previous study to gather the skill, ability, and knowledge necessary – but an AI can do it in minutes, what does that say about the future value of art?

AI art is stolen art

AI can’t feel, AI can’t use its heart to guide the paintbrush and contain happiness, anguish, joy, heartbreak or ecstasy on a canvas. It can’t explain what’s behind its AI painting. All it can do is gather immeasurable amounts of images, study them and spit fractions of them onto a digital image in about 60 seconds. Yet another thing that bothers artists. The notion that AI art is simply “stolen art” combined. Now, while all art has influences from other artists, artists usually give credit where credit is due. AI does not.

An AI drawing generator cannot come up with anything truly new

Right now, AI is limited in the sense that it learns from humanity, therefore it cannot surpass humanity. So, right now AI can’t really replace artists. AI art can only go as far as we go, and regardless of how advanced AI is, there’s still a long way to go until it reaches that limit. Although AI drawing generators can come up with amazing pieces, it’s not as simple to equate the level of a real-life artist. The artistry in the piece goes beyond a physical standalone painting. AI art can’t really do that.

But what if all an AI drawing generator generates is fear

Ultimately, it’s rooted in fear. The ultimate fear when it comes to AI permeates most projected technological futures. Echoing through most futuristic science-fiction narratives in books, films, and tv series since the concept of AI came to be. We’re talking, of course, about none other than the fear of AI becoming self-aware and turning against humanity. The singularity. The point of no return. In the creative industry, this fear is rooted not necessarily in AI turning against us, but rather in AI replacing us entirely. If AI does actually end up being able to do what we can do, if AI art is given the same value as a physical art, then it’s only a matter of time until AI art surpasses human art.

Could AI art lead to a new understanding of creativity?

While we understand the position of firmly asserting AI’s inability to serve as any source of genuine creativity, could we -plain and simply – be wrong about this? Perhaps looking at this issue as if the dilemma revolved around AI’s inability to be creative is the root of the drawback. So just hear us out for a minute. What if we changed our perspective on what creativity is? Or rather, the value that it has?

After all, don’t painters first study the foundational techniques of art and then deconstruct their knowledge to find their own particular style? Picasso didn’t paint the way he did because he didn’t know how to paint anything else. He painted the way he did because he worked through several techniques and styles until he was able to coalesce all he had learned and with that, give birth to his true artistic self.

This romanticized notion of an artist channelling creativity through a unique understanding of the human experience has undoubtedly given rise to some incredible works of art. But an AI drawing generator needn’t take away from this process. If instead, we thought of AI art as a tool to deepen our process of knowledge construction before deconstructing it to find our true artistic selves, a new understanding of creativity would ensue. We could go further into creative expression than we have gone before. Or perhaps not further, but explore other spaces and areas that we might not have been able to before due to the constraints of the physical world we inhabit.

In a way isn’t it similar to digital art? When digital art first came about, many thought it would tarnish the purity of physical art, but it didn’t. It merely proved to be another tool at the disposal of artists to explore their journey of artistry.

So perhaps it’s time to get over our fears and truly understand that when it comes to technological innovations it always boils down to the same thing. Technology is the tool, it’s the way that we use it that matters.

Carter presents a photo series that captures Black culture and uplifts its legacy. The intimacy of his truth permeates each and every framed image. Delving into Black spirituality, there is something harmonious about every piece. One can perceive the care and the minuteness with which every photograph is taken, which comes as no surprise once we find out that many of the subjects are based on Carter’s own relatives, friends, and community acquaintances. Being raised in a Baptist church, Micaiah Carter’s memories are filled with early mornings attending the church and being surrounded by his community. As such “Optimism” draws inspiration from this period of time and the overall theme of Family.

A celebration of his childhood, exploring his past and highlighting it as part of the uniqueness inherent to Blackness and Black experience. A window to his world, a homage to the influences that have made him the artist he is today.

Welcome to this month’s installment of TNC’s The Next: Kwabena Sekyi Appiah-nti. We’re confident that one look at his work will make you understand why he’s Vol. 13 of The Next series. A series dedicated to highlighting the talent that will shape the future of the creative industry.

Who is Kwabena Sekyi Appiah-nti?

Kwabena Sekyi Appiah-nti is a Belgian-Ghanian photographer based in Amsterdam. Sekyi’s work examines at large the universal experience of boyhood.

His journey into photography began with a natural interest in all things visual. Evening upon evenings of scrolling through Tumblr led to a desire to actually pick up his mother’s analogue camera and give those aesthetic shots a go. And thank god for that!

After various incursions in photography and a fateful trip to Ghana – the land of his father’s culture – Sekyi released his first solo projects: Golden Boy and its successor Sika Kokoo/Sika Kɔkɔɔ. Both of these explore Sekyi’s favourite topic to dive into, the aforementioned boyhood. Specifically, Black Boyhood.

It’s about capturing the day-to-day lives of boys and men through my own gaze, one that may not be commonly shared. Everything I do, all the subjects I choose, have sprinkles of my childhood interests and current fascinations mixed into it.

(You’re so) Golden Boy, a series worth its subject’s weight in gold

Harry Style’s hit single isn’t the only thing that’s golden. Sekyi’s photographic series Golden Boy highlights the beauty and value of Black boyhood, equating it to that of the precious metal. A much-needed manner of capturing, representing, and showcasing a demographic often plagued by characterization and unflattering stereotypes. This series on contemporary Black boyhood was kickstarted by a photo that Kwabena Sekyi Appiah-nti took in Brazil A surfer basking in sunlight, his skin and hair glistening in the sun rays, emitting a gold-like glow.

The golden theme repeats itself throughout the series’ portraits, mostly through the golden jewellery worn by the subjects of the photos. Thus expanding the allegory beyond the glow and worth of gold, and tracing the roots of the series back to the troublesome history of gold mining in African countries, and the devastating consequences for young Black men. Black boyhood having been exploited for years on end.

As a child, Sekyi was very much immersed in stereotypically male heteronormative activities. Now, the photographer seeks to re-examine society’s attitude and judgment of boys and performative masculinity as a whole.

This series is my way of stating the potential of the Black boy, equating their value to that of gold – and allowing them to shine just as much.

What does Sika Kokoo mean?

Sika Kokoo/Sika Kɔkɔɔ means red money in the Ghanian Twi language, and it’s the title of Kwabena Sekyi Appiah-nti’s awe-inspiring, stunning, first photographic book. A book that is the product of two things: Sekyi’s first trip to Ghana in 2019 where he was able to finally connect with his heritage in an immeasurably more tangible and palpable manner than earlier before in his life, and the dread quarantine brought on by COVID-19.

Although the photographer was proud of his roots and his father’s culture, working on this project allowed him to dive deep into the history, symbolism, and culture of Ghana. The photographic book Sika Kokoo is a love letter to Ghanaian culture really. It is breathtaking how beautiful it is. As a tactile and textural experience, there is more than one sense being stimulated when you pick it up. Golden pages intertwined with the striking images and bold texts that make up the book. After all, Sika Kokoo means ‘red money’, and ‘red money’ translates to ‘gold’ in English. The perfect follow-up for Golden Boy.

Gold objects have a lot of symbolism in our culture and they portray different proverbs. In Akan culture (my father’s people), gold is considered an earthly counterpart to the sun and the physical manifestation of life’s vital force, Kra (the soul).

Kwabena Sekyi Appiah-nti is uplifting Black boyhood and we’re here for it

With his work, Kwabena Sekyi Appiah-nti joins the likes of Kendal Bessent and Nico Kartel in the task of capturing and representing Black identity through a deeply personal, intimate, and insider lens. Taking charge of their own narrative, refusing to let their story be told through a foreign lens.

Now here, we can already hear you saying “You might have access to the information but that doesn’t mean you know how to use it TNC”. True. Formal education isn’t only about accessing the information, in fact, one could state that it’s more about certification. It’s about proving that you know something. You trust a surgery performed by a doctor whose credentials confirm he’s qualified, and maybe not so much someone who assures you that they know what they’re doing because they’ve watched all the TED Talks on medicine. You trust a plane flown by a pilot who has all his certifications in order, not someone who claims to be able to handle a Boeing 787 because of the countless hours spent playing with flight simulations.

Also, formal education in many cases is a way for professionals to be held accountable for any sort of malpractice. It allows for professionals to be part of larger governing entities making regulation simpler. So in these cases sure, formal education is clearly very much relevant.

But what about in creative fields?

True or False: You don’t need a formal education to become an artist

You increasingly come across the stories of hugely successful and talented creatives that received no formal education whatsoever. Self-taught, art pouring out of them, bursting at the seams.

So, is formal education necessary to become an artist? No, not at all. As shown by the countless successful creatives in the industry who do not have a BA or so much as a course certifying their ability in their craft, you can succeed in the creative field without an educational background. Young people trying to “make it” in the different creative realms are increasingly shunning the academic path in favor of a more practical, learn-as-you-go, sink-or-swim approach.

True: The price of education often isn’t worth it

I meaaaaan… Can we even blame young people for not wanting to go take the academic route? Maybe there was a time when a degree from a good university guaranteed one a decently paid job, but nowadays the only thing that’s guaranteed is beginning your professional career at a disadvantage, dragging a considerable amount of debt before you’re even allowed to drown your financial sorrows in a beer – in the US that is, elsewhere you might still have debt, but you can have a drink if you get sad about it :).

Granted this does not apply to all corners of the globe, there are countries where you can in fact study for free, northern Europe in particular. Still, this isn’t the case in most places around the world, and countries such as the US and the UK are notorious for their extortionist fees. Added to the fact that many students of arts degrees leave university without any prospects as far as jobs go and often end up working in different industries… Not to mention that you can be the best in the business but if you don’t know the right people chances are you’ll end up nowhere. Might as well start investing in those Instagram ads. Can you blame those young artists for not wanting to the academic route?

False: You can do everything on your own

That’s not to say that an education can’t be incredibly useful and advantageous. Yes some people are self-taught and it works for them, but this doesn’t mean it’ll work for everyone.

Education in many cases still provides a solid backbone for any artist’s career. Yes, you may be bursting at the seams with art, still, without the right guidance, you might not be able to portray it in your medium adequately. Formal education can help you hone in on your craft, and understand its foundations of it, its uses and purpose. Ideally, it should give you a taste of what navigating your industry will be like, either by giving you the chance to participate in showcases or complementing theoretical work with internships in the real world. Chances are that can’t do absolutely everything on your own.

Success in creative fields involves not only talent, but also hard work, direction, and a little bit of luck. You need an opportunity, and you need to be ready for it when it comes. And, as a hard-working, talented artist, if you can actually find a way to create your own opportunities, you’ve hit the jackpot.

But how does one create their own opportunities?

True: What you need are tools, resources, and connections

Creative industries are oftentimes highly competitive and, quite frankly, you could use any tool you can get yourself hold of if you want to make it.

An academic background could be such a tool. But it needn’t be the only one. There are many artists who find their path simply by embarking on it, by actually creating and putting themselves out there. The incursion into the industry, however, proves to be smoother under good guidance. Good knowledge of how everything works, of creating a collection, a song, or a painting from scratch, will no doubt help you understand the journey an artist and their work must go through in order to make a living out of it.

And if you don’t know how to get your foot in the door, a degree is a way to start. Not everyone has the contacts to be exposed to the business early on or is able to find a mentor. Not everyone has the ability or drive to teach themselves, and this doesn’t mean they’re not talented. Some people find it easier to thrive within an institution.

Formal education will come in handy as an access point to the industry. But from then onwards, know that you can’t rely on that alone in order to be successful. At the end of the day, regardless of whether you go into formal education or not, you’re going to have to learn to swim in the industry. Because there’s a lot more that goes into the creative field than creating in itself.

Does it help? Yes. Is it necessary? No.

That really says it all. An academic background is a tool like any other for an artist. It helps, but it’s not the only tool that exists and depending on your craft and desired path it’ll be of more, or of less use. The more your education bridges the gap between your art and the real world it aims to inhabit the better. Still, you can totally play the game and play it well, without any of it.

It’s all a matter of perspective. Art is subjective, and if your goal is simply to create, to be an artist, no one can tell you how to do it.

Have there been countless people getting rich, extra rich, and even richer on NFTs? Yes, yes there have. From 12-year-olds to artists, to household names, many have made a quick, and not so quick, buck riding the hype train of NFTs. Luckily for the world, sizeable portions of this cake are being destined for charitable causes. Hopefully proving those who insist that investing and caring for the digital realm translates into turning a blind eye to real-life pressing issues wrong.

Even projects that weren’t created with fundraising in mind such as the Bored Ape Yacht Club donated nearly a million dollars to Orangutan Reach.

Could NFTs be The Next tool for social change?

Let’s take a look at some of the NFT projects that are giving us hope for the role of the digital verse in the healing of the world vibes!

UNEXTINCT NFT project

The UNEXTINCT NFT project has done the impossible… It has brought an extinct species back to life! Well, not quite… but almost! At the very least it has contributed to the majestic Spix’s Macaw bird becoming ‘unextinct’. This NFT project aims to give an insight into the bird’s rehabilitation project. A bird that was declared extinct in 200 and only just got released back into the wild, on the 11th of June to be precise, after years of breeding efforts.

The launch of the UNEXTINCT NFT project marks a historical feat, as such, this moment in time when the first ever species becomes ‘unextinct’ was immortalized through an exclusive collection of digital artworks designed by the exquisitely talented and iconic wildlife photographer Tim Flach.

Rainbow Rolls: Wiping medical debt away

Believe it or not, these anthropomorphic rolls of toilet paper have quite the purpose. What some might see as silly and slightly ridiculous serves more than one worthy cause. The Rainbow Rolls NFT project seeks to alleviate medical debt, one of the most critical issues faced by society in the States. Rainbow Rolls has achieved quite an astounding $7 million in debt relief for low-income families in the US with their donations.

And this isn’t even the only project that the non-profit contributes towards. In total, 69% of Rainbow Rolls’ earnings go to charitable causes. 16.5% of the money made by Rainbow Rolls goes towards Giveth, which is a blockchain-powered community vested in public-welfare initiatives. 16% of those earnings are also donated to Gitcoin. Gitcoin is a platform that finances communities working on projects surrounding Web3.

Women Rise NFT

The digital verse is praised for its inclusivity and accessibility. But rather than the reality of it, it sometimes seems that this praise is more about its potential to be something rather than what it actually is. At the end of the day, the digital realm at present time is very much a reflection of the real world, and representation issues are latent.

Women Rise NFT is here to change that. Women Rise NFT is a collection of 10,000 unique art pieces created by Maliha Abidi, an artist who dedicates her efforts to advocate for women’s rights, girls’ education, and gender equality. The art pieces consist of different representations of diverse women all across the globe. Uplifting trailblazing countless women activists, scientists, artists, and even coders from all around the world who are doing their part in making this floating piece of land in the cosmos that we live in a better place for all. Moreover, Women Rise NFT actively seeks to make the NFT digital space a more inclusive and diverse space for all.

ARTXV: Showing the power of neurodiversity

ARTXV is very clear on its mission: showing the power of neurodiversity. ARTXV is an empowered community whose members range from artists to collectors and allies all aligned on the same path of promoting diversity in the NFT space. And how exactly do they plan on doing this? Well, by empowering neurodiverse artists!

This amazing collective highlights the work of neurodiverse artists, thus uplifting them and helping them reach economic independence. They recently partnered up with Google Arts & Culture in their mission!

ChangeDAO uses NFTs for social impact

Now, these guys are taking it a step further. Not only are they using NFTs to raise funds, but they are also doing it so that the earnings automatically benefit various parties. By creating the ‘Triple P NFT’ model, ChangeDAO has managed for every digital asset to benefit several stakeholders. What does this mean? This means that the sale of an NFT benefits people, planet, and profit.

In their words, they are a “decentralized application built on the ethereum blockchain and a global grassroots community aimed at leveraging social change art and NFTs as a force for change.”

Each and every one of the ChangeDAO NFTs supports a cause. On top of that, ChangeDAO is focusing its efforts on reducing energy consumption and offsetting the carbon footprint of the mining of their NFTs.

Oceans and Us flips the script on NFTs and sustainability

Serial entrepreneur Joel Michael infuses sustainability in every way he can throughout his businesses. Choosing not only to make it a part of his ventures but rather their main focus. With his latest startup, Oceans and Us, the Dubai-based entrepreneur seeks to raise $1.2 million to clean up the world’s oceans.

And how exactly does Joel Michael plan to do this? This is where the NFTs come into play. The green startup’s goals will be funded via the sale of 10,000 NFTs designed by renowned artist Vesa Kivinen, artistically known as VESA. It doesn’t end there, the idea is for Oceans and Us to partner up with over 100 brands across the Middle East and UAE whose focus is also on sustainability so that the NFT buyers can enjoy discounts and perks with these brands too. Therefore uplifting sustainability as an eco-system rather than a single action.

The whole western world is documenting an edited history on social media, one pic at a time. Between us… Rare, almost mythological creatures are those who still haven’t taken, edited, and posted a photo in 2022. After all, post it or it never happened, right?

Documenting our life online inevitably incorporates photography, whose democratization has never been as wild as it is today.

New representations and idols have been raised through online networking. Now, we all know that movements from popular, ‘lower’ culture have always been an engine for change and influence in the arts – or more frankly, they’ve been influencing the ‘exclusive, upper culture’. This is no a secret, kilometers of literature have been already written about it.

In this sense, photography isn’t an exception.

iPhone in Hand: Democratic or Popular Photography?

Let’s name the revolution sustained by social media: photography democratization. Or is it its vulgarization?

On one side, it has finally given credit to minorities, practices, and discourses that do not find space in western institutional exhibitions. On the other hand, it has crowded our daily life with visuals of all kinds, creating a bulimic image culture.

“I do think that the essence of creativity has been greatly influenced by social media and that its presence frequently reduces the creativity of the makers. We are overwhelmed by images on a daily basis and many of these are so similar that photographers become less likely to challenge themselves in their own authentic creativity and prefer to safely follow the trends. Which ultimately ensures that art/photography inspires you less and doesn’t stimulate certain emotions.”

Nina Pus, head of photography at Czar Amsterdam.

Social media practice has somehow changed the way we perceive photography, connecting it to the logic of Likes.

Fun Fact: There was a moment, a bunch of years ago when an impressive number of amateurs started to define themselves as ‘photographers’ or ‘models’ on their Instagram profiles. In both cases, it seemed that owning an iPhone was enough ‘to be’ a professional. I’m sure you’re chuckling… Everyone knows what I’m talking about. Literally, it was a boom of online self-proclamation. – For the record, the phenomenon has evolved over the years. Isn’t now the time for questionable ‘public figures’ and ‘artists’ in contentless profiles? But that’s another story…

At the end of the day, if many of those profiles were just a swing and a miss, others really kick-started a proper career, bringing about different aesthetics and new photography trends in the arena. But, in the eye of the hurricane, the fact that many of those self-proclaimed photographers have never engaged with a camera outside of their mobile still stands. Is owning an iPhone enough to be considered a professional photographer?

Beyond an automatic and questionable “that’s unfair for professional photographers who spent a lifetime studying lenses and angles”, the real issue here is the death of photography as we knew it.

Back in 2013, the old guard, award-winning photographer Antonio Olmos commented to the Guardian “It’s really weird. Photography has never been so popular, but it’s getting destroyed. There have never been so many photographs taken, but photography is dying.”

After 9 years… Is that true?

Social Media has turned over a new page in contemporary visual culture. The early concerns regarding the weak line between amateur and professional, the integrity of the art, and the preservation of industry structure and job market. All of them seem to be quite dated speeches today.

The bond between social life and technology has reshaped the way we think and practice photography. In other words, like every other medium in contemporary history, photography has readapted itself to the changes ad trends of the social media era.

Social media has rewritten three key aspects of photography as an art and profession: its market, aesthetics, and timing. There is no doubt that the profession of photographer has faced a crisis, but it’s pretty much the same for musicians, writers, designers, etc. Well, it’s pretty much the same for all the creative industries.

As Nina Pus pointed out to TNC, if the positive aspect of social media is its ample reach, on the other hand

“There are so many creators and it is not so much about the content, but mainly about how you present things and this is what mainly affects the number of followers. […] The marketing world responds to trends and I think that has changed the essence of aesthetics in photography, unfortunately”

‘The Medium is the Message’ theorist Marshall McLuhan would comment.

And, when asked if Stories and Lives on social media are influencing the photographic process, Nina has no doubt.

“100%. Image & Concept falls into total oblivion, because of the continuous desire to feed your following with “entertainment”. Photography is also aesthetic of course, but because the essence of the aesthetic has changed over the years, I think it has become more difficult for some creators to challenge themselves in the narrative process.”

Instagram aesthetics have invaded the online marketing language. Well-known and iconographic images are exploited to better engage with users. And the entertaining and narcissistic dimensions play a key role in sales. Just think of Shein, the fast fashion colossus that has replaced any traditional, flat e-commerce pictures with content-based images. Its marketplace in the app is reminiscent of an influencer feed much more than that of an eCommerce. Haven’t you noticed?

Stepping away from mere capitalism for a second… How has Instagram photography affected the art of shooting?

A great answer was provided by Amsterdam’s Huis Marseille museum director Nanda van de Berg, on the occasion of the collective exhibition ‘Infinite Identities – Photography in the Age of Sharing’, in January 2021.

“The word ‘Instagram’ is off-putting, but this new medium invites artists to look at the world around them and develop a new iconography. I compare it to the impact of the polaroid or the handheld camera, and how these formats enabled new ways of looking.”

But it would be reductive to limit the discourse to the field of art or advertising. We shouldn’t forget the main, basic function of a camera: Documenting Life! Outside the creative field, the influence of social media on photography has been going a little bit further. Like, for example, rewriting a new page of contemporary photoreportage, in documentary photography.

The immediate nature of social media, based on real-time stories and lives, is revolutionizing the timing of the photographic process. Within this wave, the war and crisis reportage has taken on a completely new meaning throughout the current Ukrainian war. The video of the refugee Amelia, the 7yo Ukrainian child singing ‘Let It Go’, as well as the picture of 109 baby strollers into a square in Lviv and many other thousand stories. All of it has been documented and spread around the world, becoming ‘ a powerful ammunition in an information war playing out on social media’. And it is the journalist Megan Specia highlighting that. That’s not chicken feed!

Let’s not forget that changes are uncomfortable, especially when discarding the old traditional system. Lazing in complaining is as useful as grumbling about the weather: with or without your approval, social media will continue to revolutionize the image market. The same goes for photography! It is your choice at the stake, you can just ignore the changes and struggle in an old career, or embrace the opportunity to create new art forms and languages.

Up to you!

Ok, let’s reformulate the question. Truth be told, you already can. Or you’re probably doing it already… With your avatar, your digital skin, in virtual realms. In all those immersive games that make us feel like the Metaverse is a step closer.

Inevitably, in the Metaverse, we’ll be styling our identity in the same way we style it now in everyday life. But with a tiny, little difference. In the digital realm, possibilities are unpredictable and ‘styling’ won’t refer to the mere matching of garments and items. You can transform the digital body itself.

Now, how far would you go in reshaping the limits of flesh and bones in the Metaverse? How far would you go to transform your digital body?

TNC unveils the influences that are already leading to different forms of body dysmorphia online. From die-hard social media habits to the influences from body dysmorphic art, passing through gender equality claims. We delve into the top trends influencing the construction of your digital body in the Metaverse, diving into their rooted origins.

That’s a frank talk on social anxieties and contemporary issues that also affects the construction of YOUR identity online right there.

Feeling overwhelmed? Worry not, there are plenty of rooms to escape the tagline.

So relax, close your eyes, accept the inevitable, and imagine what your digital twin would look like.

Metaverse Social Life: It’s all About your Digital Skin

Whether you go to virtual malls, concerts, or cinemas, your digital body represents you and serves the social purpose of interacting and communicating to others exactly what you want to be and appear.

In building your digital body, you filter the information you want to give. Regardless of whether that info reflects the actual body or not, since your digital ID is in any case verified in blockchains.

Despite your conscious filtering, your final digital body will say a lot about you. Even if you didn’t intentionally mean for it to do so.

We will spare you the philosophical sermon. Let’s just say that when you are there at your desk, selecting the features and equipment of your digital skin, the digital body you’re creating is affected by the same influences and social expectations that impact your physical body.

But your digital body has potentially no limits. Digital skin customization leaves much more room for personal uniqueness and identity affirmation.

You can edit it, filter its morphology and functionalities, and reimagine a completely new creature. All of it is thanks to the countless creative possibilities in the digital realm. The Metaverse seems to be open to new forms of digital bodies: cyborgs, monsters, hybrid creatures, and whatever you could imagine. We definitely got it.

At this point, visualize your ideal digital body and tell me… Are you exploiting those possibilities?

The PERFECT Digital Body. All you’ve ever dreamt of

Strike the best pose, suck in the tummy, eyes down and chin up, shoot, pick the perfect pic, filter it, cut it, maybe better B&W… Then and only then you’re ready to post a new, edited version of yourself on the social media jungle.

Everyone does it. You too, admit it!

It’s a reflex as old as the history of pictures on social media. And old, bad habits are hard to kill.

Now that the Metaverse – or better, immersive digital environments, are rewriting the rules of social networking via blockchain interactions, many have already started customizing their virtual body. After all, isn’t digital skin customization the central point of the top online games?

From Digital Dystopia Art to Games, we are having an overdose of hybrid, reworked, and re-imagined bodies. But when it comes to avatars and their use in social interaction in the Metaverse, it seems that users tend to fall under the same tagline as in any other socials 2.0. One thing is to play as Super Mario. It’s another to create an avatar that acts as your actual self.

We want to present the best version of ourselves. Kardashian-ified bodies, 6-pack abs, whiter skin, and inflated lips. All of this to stick to irrealistic and unattainable beauty canons that hardly sexualize and label the body. Same old story.

The same old story that points to the Metaverse as the next venue for body dysmorphic disorder.

On the other hand, the exact opposite could take place too. You might want to represent your flesh exactly as it came in the world. Not something all that hard to achieve apparently, since many platforms and companies are already enhancing photo-realistic, full-body digital scans for a lifelike virtual-twin avatar.

But what happens if your body is meant to be a flag for social validation? The gamer Kirby Crane has provided a valid example:

“My goal wasn’t so much to explore the philosophy of avatars but more to explore the representation that’s available in current avatars and see if I could portray myself accurately,”

says Crane, who describes himself as a “fat, gay, pre-medical transition trans man.”

Recreating his body in 10 different games, he experienced first-hand how customizing your avatar can be a real struggle. Technology is there to allow you to reshape it as you want, but the same social inequalities translate to online tools.

Some games didn’t let him have breasts on a male character, and in other platforms he just burst out of his clothes as he was trying to make the avatar bigger.

Is it surprising though? Not really.

But we’re not here to brush Barbies. It’s time to fight those inequities now, while the metaverse is a giant work-in-progress hub.

So… how can we escape this tagline?

Digital Dystopia Art is lighting the way for your Digital Skin

Social Media’s impact has always been a trap for body representation. As social interactions in the Metaverse become the zeitgeist of this era, breaking the past and fostering nonconformity online should be the priority.

So, stop re-creating natural and social limits on your avatar! There’s another, creative option that allows us to escape such dangerous constrictions.

You’ll be surprised to know that the solution was already thought up some 37 years ago by Donna Haraway. Yep, more than 30 years, when the word ‘Metaverse’ still wasn’t even featured in the original Snow Crash science fiction. With her Cyborg Manifesto, Haraway shook the collective consciousness, boosting the figure of the Cyborg as the best example to move beyond the limitations of traditional gender and identity.

“A cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction. Social reality is lived social relations, our most important political construction, a world-changing fiction. “

Donna Haraway

We’ve all been cyborgs for a while. Our devices such as our medicines are all extensions of our bodies. At the dawn of the Metaverse, we build our avatar, and somehow, we are building our social presence online. We are building an extension of our identity, our digital skin. So if we are already hybrid creatures, why the hell should our digital body be bound to old, sick limits?

Digital Dystopia art, in this sense, is boosting different aesthetics, and it is providing new sources of inspiration for your digital skin. Like Haraway, many digital artists have embraced Body Hybridization as a form of expression.

And with no further ado, here are some digital art trends your digital avatar could be inspired by!

The CYBORG. When Digital Body meets Techs

Blending the body with techs has been a must since the 80s. Prosthetics, chips, implants, and whatever electronic device was possible to conceive with a bit of imagination, melt all together into the figure that is the cyborg. Becoming a recurrent topic in contemporary art, from the performances of Stelarc, or Harbisson, to the iconic H. R. Giger artworks, the cyborg couldn’t be missed in digital art.

Undoubtedly, Marc Tudisco is among those artists that are making of the Cyborg, a proper statement.

On top of that, very interesting experimentations are coming from the genius mind of Nick Knight for ShowStudio. Recently announcing his new collab with Jazzelle Zanaughtti while teasing the audience with one, basic question:

How far would you go to transform your digital body?

The BIOMORPHIC CYBORG. Digital Body meets Nature

Haraway didn’t limit her speech to the mere meeting between human and machine. She alluded to the breakdown between any organism and machine, promoting cyborgs that take shape after biomorphic hybridization. Again, the topic has found a new fortune in digital and visual art.

The outstanding artist Jon Jacobsen has already made it a signature in his creations, playng with different and unpredictable references to reshape the limits of body.

More recently, the emblematic work of the visual artist Curry Tian, “The Impurity of the Body” is definitely worth a quote.

And what about playing with both influences? The unique aesthetics of Brandon Allen Bolmen, alias Maskarade, takes the best from the meeting point between body, nature, and the cybernetic. His bodies are in continuous evolution and transition, embracing the fluid essence of contemporary identities.

Those are just a few possibilities you can explore.

But we hope you got the point. Do not limit yourself to old standards and mental boxes. The Metaverse is now, and it’s also up to you to contribute to achieving that freedom, negated i traditional social media practices. And that freedom starts with your very digital skin.

Can my digital self be my real self?

Yes, as long as you accept the fluidity and the contradictions of each built identity. Including yours.

Ready your pen and paper TNCers, photography golden tips are about to rain all over!

Everyone has that friend obsessed with a specific, recurring number. I had a friend who was crazy about the number 22, and actually, the number seemed to pop up everywhere when I was with him. Trust me, this story can make you freak out and doubt your friend…that is until it happens to you.

My personal obsession has been a name. Or rather, a photographer. But also, an art director, graphic designer, and full-time artist.

My obsession has been Calvin Pausania.

Was I reading about the latest Naomi Sharon music? Calvin Pausania was there.

Was I picking my fave Converse? Calvin Pausania has been collaborating with the brand for 3 years.

Was I diving into Frenna’s latest project for Havana Club, Toast to the Culture? Again, Calvin Pausania’s lens captured the moment.

At the end of the day, I didn’t need to even read the name: I could recognize his incredible, vibrant photographic style among thousands. It struck a chord with me. And there, on the third cockcrow, the hands were already googling…

To Lead an Orchestra, You Must Turn your Back on the Crowd

Opening Pausania digital museum, you come across his tagline.

Self-taught photographer, Class of ‘94, Calvin Pausania dropped out of the art academy just a few weeks after his first class. His climb from the days of curating Dutch music covers in 2013 to the conquest of worldwide streetwear labels has been nothing short of outstanding.

The idea that takes place is one of a rebellious genius, a ‘multi-instrumentalist’, that has escaped formal education against any reasonable advice, to find his personal art. Indeed, as it often happens within the editorial environment, it’s quite normal to expect to e-meet an eccentric character. But, since the very first sentences of our talk, Calvin has turned down this misconception, proving that artists do not need a big ego to succeed: Talent silently speaks for itself.

His photography merges architectural prospectives and graphical distortions, blurring the lines between digital and real. Each shoot is a bite of broader, conceptual storytelling that pushes the boundaries of gravity.

The Story Beyond the Myth: How Did all of It Start?

How could Calvin manage such a range of different artforms? It seems that Passion is the proper word to describe this inception. At the age of 19, Calvin attended an art course and he immediately fell in love with graphic design and its linkage with the world of music.

“Graphic design was everywhere around me. I saw every artist having his own single or album cover. It sounded very interesting in that kind of artform. So, I just started to do it. […] It was my first source of inspiration; but when I started posting on Instagram, one music artist reached out to me. On Instagram, I wasn’t interested in making photos of what I was doing in everyday life. I just wanted to show the talent, you know. So, because of that, the ball started rolling. That was 2013.

When I went to art school in 2015, I already was working with several clients. Sometimes I wasn’t able to attend classes and teachers thought I wasn’t fully focused. Which was true!”

Here, the myth of a rebellious, enfant terrible fails, revealing the measured and pondered decision to focus on his rising career. By the end of 2016, Calvin Pausania was already a full-time artist, working as art director and graphic designer for the Mustard’s 10 Summers Records.

It wasn’t a bad decision, after all!

Still, the background in design permeates his current photographic works, informing a unique dynamic and vibrant style.

The role played by graphic design and architecture is a very important one. I grew up with them. I grew up being amazed by buildings, but also by graphic design, obviously. It has made me learn. You get a lot of education from them, especially about composition.

“If you need to work in a certain square for an album cover you need to make sure that within that square all the information is there. It definitely makes you look at photography differently. And basically, that’s also the reason why I stopped doing graphic design and moved into photography.

Especially in the music industry, we received photos and we needed to make something like a collage or graphics to create a single cover. I was used to working with photos of other people took, but I felt a lot of times that composition and information weren’t there. I started to make my photo on-site and make my own version of conceptual art. In the same style of graphic design. And there the blend started.”

In 2017, all the creative process was in his hands from the get go. It started as an exploration and experimentation to understand what kind of photo and angle the graphic work needed. But it ended up being a proper lightning strike with photography.

What Are Your lenses Seeking to Grab?

“I combine the words ‘Motion’ And ‘Emotion’ in (E)Motion. I always would like to tell a story with a series of photos. And sometimes I do it even in commercial campaigns, depending on what the client wants. That’s always really nice to tell a story from multiple angles”

If Emotions and Movements are the keys, then the next medium to bring in conversation comes quite naturally: in the last two years, Pausania has started embracing video direction.

“I’m branching out more medium, but it is still not something that I post a lot. I’m learning as I go. And I think it can bring my work to new heights. We will see what the future holds” – And he seems quite serious about it!

But, generally speaking, what makes a good photograph is hard to say: Calvin belongs to that branch of artists that recognizes the subjectivity of art and tastes.

“You can never, really, please a crowd. But I suggest to find your own style. In photography as well as in other forms of art. Because that’s what keeps you going! That’s what keeps everything in one style. And this way, the art that you put out, is true to yourself!”

The true self of Pausania is unveiled by his main inspirations: his everyday life. From the music to fashion and the architectural buildings reflected in the composition, Calvin breathes inspiration in from his surrounding. He melds them into a perfect blend that captures the essence of contemporary society, blurring the lines between the real and the digital.

What’s the meaning behind it?

“The blur between digital and physical is our current life because of social media. Here, you never know if something is real, or if it really happens or not. I’m inspired and sensitive to everything around me, the current state of society is one of them”

How Do You Choose Your Subjects for Your Independent Projects?

“It depends, sometimes it’s a real-life situation and sometimes I’m very inspired by an unknown topic. In the first case, I’m able to really capture that memory and give it a special place. In the second case, I’m able to learn about a topic and create new memories.”

Impossible to forget is his Amnesia / Unknown Memory. A deep exploration of the symbolism of flowers encoded in the story of Alta. Due to the touch of a poisoning flower, a new, powerful version of herself takes control: Nova.

‘Touched by a poisonous flower. A new reality led by an unknown memory. Do I trust myself well enough to control me?’

Nova represents the inner journey in an unknown, yet familiar self: She finds out that this new version has always been there; she just couldn’t connect with it before. It is a journey through unknown memories.

Pausania’s works count also many artistic collaborations, where the art of blending arts can’t be defined as anything other than incredible. And it seems to be a matter of personal and professional connections.

“Every talent has its own characteristics, they own their story. By embracing that, you find a certain connection that you can only have with one individual. This makes every shoot unique.

[…] That specific story shapes something that you cannot create with someone else.

It’s always like exploring, I got this feeling. It’s always like exploring you and new people.”

Take Notes! It’s Raining Golden Tips

FIND YOUR OWN STYLE!

“It is the most important thing! Find your own style, keep it, and stick to it! And it goes with every type of art, whether you’re into sculpture or photography. If you’re operating within your own style, you’re true to yourself, and you will get an audience. So if you stick to that, and you improve your quality, the right people will find you, and then you are in your niche. But if you mimic, and if you do a lot of different things, people won’t understand.”

Yes man, that’s a critical point for any emerging talent!

Pausania teaches that pleasing the client doesn’t mean sacrificing your personal style. Rather, a balance between commercial requests and artistic expression is necessary.

What’s his secret?

“It happens sometimes that I’m pushed in a certain direction. For instance, when I have a lot of commercial clients in a row. Sometimes they just pick something that you’ve done before, and they want just a new version of it. So, I’ve been recreating a lot of older work.

If I find myself working on too many client projects, and I lose a little bit of focus…

…That’s when I work on personal projects to really put out there what I really want to make!

And it also helps my client work in the end.”

“There’s an artist for every client. If the work doesn’t fit my style, I think someone else could make it great. And just accepting a client and shooting something that’s not true to yourself, just because of the money… In the long run, could not be beneficial for you”

Follow your own style, never stop learning and exploring, dive deeper into your passions, and find your own community. Those aren’t slogans. Those are the keys to make of your art a living.

You’ve got the golden tips now… What are you waiting for?

A huge surveillance mirror cage, white tiling, and lights make one recall the padded cell of a psychiatric hospital. A dark and dirty glass box stands in the centre. The models step in, their movements are unusual, weird, while the bandaged head suggests a post lobotomy recovery. This is a performance.

Corsets and architectural garments, enriched with oyster shells and luscious feathers gleam before the audience’s eyes. This is fashion.

As soon as the last model leaves the stage and the lights turn low, a brightness starts to burn in the dark box while an uncomfortable heartbeat. An artificial breathing echoes through the audience. Dramatically, the sides of the box shatter to the ground, revealing moths fluttering around the masked and gasping body of Michelle Olley. A live, contemporary reinterpretation of Joel Peter Witkin’s 1983 Sanitarium. This is art.

I hear you fashion maniacs, jumping out of your skin!

That was the day in which the vibrant London fashion scene was shaken, dismantled, and resembled by Alexander McQueen. What was that? A catwalk? A performance? On that day the surveillance mirror cube staged “a coup de théâtre that has made ever-living history”. And that was the Vogue fashion critic Sarah Mower talking. That was quite something!

With the Voss show, McQueen marked a new era in the creative industry. Fashion stole languages and practices of contemporary art by questioning the crossover of beauty and gender, social boundaries, and mental health. In between the performance and the art installation, the catwalk rewrote the rules of the fashion game.

Fashion and art are undeniably tied together, inspiring one another around in a circle, feeding each other’s mastery, and pushing boundaries in a new cultural shift. So, with London Fashion Week coming to an end, TNC wants to celebrate this intersection, giving space to the new generation of designers that have melted artistic forms of expression with their craftsmanship, while inquiring about current, social practices.

Marie Lueder: “Let Your Eyes Be the Lens”

Inevitably, the works of Marie Lueder struck a chord with us!

Having graduated from London’s Royal College of Art in Menswear, Marie Lueders has engaged with different forms of art to question gender roles through fashion. As part of the DisoveryLab, Marie Lueder presented her SS23 collection in the Synthetic Fire fashion film: A recorded performance inspired by the scent of communion.

The film opens with a radio recording room; the speaker’s lips leave a message in slow motion: “you only know yourself what makes you happy, and …”. Suddenly, the spectator is thrown into a giant field; the dug sign of a spiral, Lueder’s signature, stands out against the green grass. At its heart, performers start a dance reminiscent of ancestral movements. The collection is slowly unveiled through the alternation of close shoots on details, confused mobile voice notes and – again- the radio speaker.

In the field, a subtle sound is already suggesting what comes next, recalling the gentle and somehow reassuring fire burning, and drawing the audience into the fire ritual.

“Taking the soles both spiritually and physically. The soles of your foot. Surrounding them around something that’s much freer than we’ve ever wished to be or hoped to be”

Feel the ground, feel what you walk on, leaving a mark.

The artist and designer artfully plays with different media and formats, mixing radio recordings, TV news, and dancing performance in the field. Aiming for a feeling of safety inspired by the scent of communion.

“Let your eyes be the lens”

Mastering the art of storytelling and acting as a sculpture over the body, Lueder’s creations represent a mind-armour for the wearer, preserving his identity against social imposition over gender. Confusing the borders between performativity and performance, her films are rather a conversational interaction between collaborative bodies and experiences.

Olubiyi Thomas: “The Eye Is Not Just a Lens, but a Projector”

Cutting his teeth in the Alexander McQueen house, the Lagos-born Olubiyi Thomas is the fashion designer that focuses on the node of performance, heritage, and identity. For this edition of LFW, his mastery has sewn together with an incredible number of ethnic references, celebrating freedom in self-expression and multiculturalism.

If the SS23 catwalk can be defined – with no doubt – as a proper masterpiece in Avant-guard aesthetics, what has also enraptured the public by the heart was the live performance. The garment, the body and the movement: three key elements that act as one during the ancestral dances of Nathan Goodman and Lulu Wang, that explore and rewrite the linkage between African culture and British Post-Colonialism. Like a Phoenix, rising from ashes, their bodies are on fire, talking about liberation and new life.

“It is a Yoruba philosophical concept through which the Yoruba of Nigeria conceive the power to make things happen and produce changes.”

All around the runway, some messages recall the ancient, cave paintings, giving us the key to a broader reading.

After almost 23 years since the McQueen revolution, the bond between art and fashion has been sealed for a new generation of designers that have brought different forms of interaction to the game. Boosting that traditional blending, and bringing into conversation different media to claim the freedom of identity expression.

Karabo Poppy knows this well, and when she realised that no matter how far she looked she struggled to see herself represented in contemporary art, she took it upon herself to become that representation for others.

The South African illustrator has taken the world by storm and placed contemporary African aesthetic front stage and centre. Talk about having a purpose. Taking a look at her life, one might think the 29-year-old artist was born into this world precisely for this reason. After all, not many can say that their parents were called into school when they were 6 years old simply to point out one’s inherent artistic capabilities. Not many, but Karabo Poppy can.

This wouldn’t be the first time one of Poppy’s teachers would become enchanted by her talent to the point of seeking to steer the illustrator’s life towards the arts. In fact, after high school (and with an acceptance letter to med school – important detail), yet another teacher pleaded with Poppy to attend an Open Day at the Open Window Institute. And what else can we say besides “Thank you teacher, wherever you are!”, because without said teacher, we might not have the pleasure of experiencing Karabo Poppy’s brilliant art today and she might not have become for others the representation she craved for herself growing up.

Karabo Poppy has blazed her own trail. For herself, and for those who will come after her.

Poppy recalls being one of the nine black students in her class, appalling truly when we take into account the student population of around 600. It wasn’t just students that were predominately white, so was the syllabus.

What we were learning was catered to more of a Western narrative, and we weren’t really seeing an African narrative being taught or explored, or even encouraged. In the textbooks, there was traditional and primitive African art, nothing contemporary, or in the context of advertising or digitisation.
-Karabo Poppy for ItsNiceThat

While traditional African art was more accessible, and there was some, – albeit minuscule – black female representation in the fine arts scene, for the life of her Poppy could not find African voices, especially female ones, in contemporary design. Even after graduating, the South African illustrator saw no option but to become a freelance artist since she couldn’t find any creative agencies or design studios that actually worked through the lens of a contemporary African perspective. Many would have given up at this point, at the very least they would have adapted and shape-shifted in order to fit the pre-established boxes. After all, what recent graduate wouldn’t -at least temporarily- sell their soul for a minimally decently paid gig. Well, not Karabo Poppy. Because in case you had forgotten, she wasn’t placed in this world for that. Her teacher knew it, and Poppy did too.

Apparently so did the universe. How else do you explain a millenial getting an email from a huge tech company offering the job of a lifetime? Specifically, offering Karabo Poppy the job that would cause her career to spiral upwards. An offer from Project RED and Apple to work for a campaign that raised over a million USD toward the plight of HIV/AIDS all across Africa.

It felt amazing, I wanted to make money to help my family, but now I got to make money to help my continent, and it just pushed me, even more, to keep doing what I’m doing. 
-Karabo Poppy for Highsnobiety

Putting Africa on the map of contemporary design and media

Karabo’s work is vibrant, joyous, and regal. All while conveying an inherent coolness, effortless yet determined. She developed her characteristic style by channelling her surroundings. Those driven by fate might believe her a prophet of sorts, come to imbue Africa with the protagonism it rightfully deserves. A messenger of her people. Honouring her ancestors.

The Wall Street Journal called her up. Will you believe that a platform as pivotal as The Wall Street Journal did not have an Africa-base illustrator in its roster before Karabo Poppy? If this isn’t proof that Poppy is succeeding in her mission to rebalance African representation in the contemporary design and media realm then we don’t know what is.

And what a grand way to rebalance African representation. Her line work stands out as much if not more than the energetic colours that permeate her illustrations. A line work that’s vigorous, and infused with movement. It’s almost as if you can hear her illustrations roar and sing.

Mark our words: Karabo Poppy will be one of the key voices of contemporary art.