ART HOW CULTURAL GLOBALIZATION AND META TRANSHUMANISM, IN THE AESTHETICS OF ABSTRACT FUTURISM AND DIGITAL MYSTICISM.
Anastasia Skabelkina, new media artist and independent curator, founder of the “METAXIS” digital art festival and the “Expansion of Clarity” Mixed Reality bureau.
Today, we see the lively mixing of different cultures from around the world. This mix not only makes our shared experiences richer but also can be a sign of potentiality in worldwide unity. Also, the coming together of cultures is a symbol of Artificial Intelligence — a field that shows what we can do when we all work together, using the huge amount of information we’ve created.
Already, we are witnessing the flowering of individuality based on diversity. Each of us is made up of millions of ideas created by other people, as Artificial Intelligence. We unite with narrow artificial intelligence systems at the level of meaning and creativity, which opens up great prospects for human development.
The fusion of human creativity with technology can provide us endless possibilities in creating a world where humans and artificial intelligence intertwine seamlessly. This era may be characterized by profound unity.
Within this paradigm, art emerges as a catalyst, igniting a profound interaction that stretches the boundaries of human potential and cultivates our most refined attributes. It is through the therapeutic power of art that its impact is enlarged within digital realms
The engagement evoked by digital art prompts individuals to embark on journeys of self-exploration, hidden and still uncharted potentials and fostering an awareness of the inner interconnectedness among all beings. In this transformative process, individuals transcend the confines of physicality, seamlessly integrating themselves into the fabric of the artwork. Thus, the sublime becomes an internal facet of the individual experience.
In this vision, the advent of new technologies stops to be viewed as a threat; rather, it emerges as a guiding force towards self-realization and societal connection. Through this symbiotic relationship between humanity and technology, a harmonious integration is achieved, creating the way for a world where the pursuit of collective well-being and personal growth flourishes unabated.
Anastasia Skabelkina, through digital art, shows the viewer that the physical reality can be changeable and dual. She conveys this idea through an aesthetic she calls futuristic, using terms like abstract futurism and digital mysticism.
These terms manifest in her works as a constant fluidity of imagery. The ability to alter perception through light, and the notion that our ingrained perception is not the sole norm but can be easily transformed through technology. In this regard, digital technologies showcase the potential of playing with reality. Here, the solid can become fluid, and the stable can become dynamic. Anastasia utilizes the inherent quality of digital art’s transformation and mutation as a visual technique aimed at expanding our worldview.
Expanding one’s worldview has the paramount importance to Anastasia, as it provides an opportunity to evoke our best qualities and transform fear and aggression into love and harmony. In the artist’s view, there is more within us than we can express while we are confined by our familiar world or everyday circumstances.
Art serves as the trigger with which we can interact to expand our potential for self-expression and our finest qualities. Essentially, it is the therapeutic power of art that, in Anastasia’s perspective, can be maximized through digital environments that enable interactive engagement. The action prompted by a digital art installation encourages the viewer to discover new possibilities within themselves and to realize the interconnectedness of all people, the ability to transition into the digital space and become a part of the artwork. Thus, the elevated becomes an integral part of the individual.
Embracing duality in art and the opportunity to interact with the environment are the mechanics that help the viewer come to themselves through manifestation. Anastasia feels the importance of these practices through her own experience. For many years, the artist encountered various environments where the individual’s identity was suppressed, hindering its expression and revelation.
EARTH METAXIS promotes a sense of unity and collective responsibility towards our planet, encouraging a global dialogue on environmental conservation and harmonious coexistence among all species.
The attempt to break free from such an environment led to the idea of shaping a space in art where the artwork visually and through human participation, on one hand, negates the past experience of unequivocal perception, and on the other hand, offers engagement in something new, where the individual feels their uniqueness. In this sense, the artist seeks to create a world of the future, where new technologies are not a threat but serve as a guide to self-discovery and societal harmony.
In 2018, Anastasia Skabelkina founded METAXIS, a digital experimentation hub for art and music, offering an immersive experience and serving as a platform for engaging in dialogues on the themes that define her artistic vision. METAXIS aims to explore contemporary digital art and reflect on the era of metamodernism. Additionally, it seeks to investigate the interaction between individuals and digital environments and their impact.
We all inhabit the same planet, Earth, the only place in the universe available for our future existence. We are more than just a particular nation or political ideals; we are an intelligent species on a piece of land where life originated in a unique way. EARTH METAXIS aims to remind us that home is one for all, the planet is one for all, and the fortuitous chain of events that gave rise to life and its wonderful diversity of species.
