Transformation of the Art World
As technology advances, our social fabric transforms, and the art world continues to evolve. Not only can blockchain technology be used to establish provenance, uniqueness and ownership of digital art, artists are utilising the technology to establish new communities and interactions, changing the dynamics of the art world in unprecedented ways. How NFTs should be defined in the art world is still debatable but what’s certain is that NFTs are now part of a canon of art history, and will remain immutable on the blockchain.
Perspectives: Digital Past, Present, Future
AN INTERVIEW WITH THE SHOPHOUSE, YOSHIROTTEN AND WING SHYA.
As technology becomes increasingly ubiquitous in our lives, we are able to capture moments in time, in pixels, and time travel through the flattened dimensions within the multi-planes of our mobile devices. With our increasingly hybrid world where technology connects, distracts, and becomes an addiction at times, a new appetite emerges.
Web3 and An Evolving Society
The evolution of technology is reflective of the changing needs and desires of human societies and civilisation. One of the most important disruptions brought about in the development of Web3 is the changing social dynamics of communities and business models that celebrate true ownership and participation. With the emergence of digital communities and a vision towards interoperability, perhaps there is a chance for us to shape the future development of Web3.
Identity in the Digital Age
Identity is a shifting construct. For centuries it had been associated with our physical appearances, captured through portraiture paintings and photography as a way to preserve the ephemerality of our mortal existence. With the emergence of digital media, we have shifted from the predominant third-person narrative to a first-person one—where everyone has become a “curator” in shaping their ideal self on online social platforms.
In times of the pandemic, our efforts in the reproduction of our material existence has also been amplified as we lose our physical presence and connections with the real world. Are we losing ourselves behind the mirage of digital alternatives? Or, is technology enhancing our sense of self in the digital realm?
Metaverse, A Utopian Vision
The Meta Lab is a new series of essays that explores the potentials and ramifications of emerging technology in society, taking a didactical approach invested in the notion that the culmination of varying perspectives leads us to a commonplace of divergence. The first article examines the idea of the metaverse as a utopian vision.