“Portals,” an exhibition guest curated by Lee Mason of Metageist for 1stDibs, explores the concept of the portal as a door into another realm, whether real or imagined. One of the creators, OgiWorlds, focuses on crafting meta-narratives in his work and forging new pathways for imagination and communication in the Metaverse. We asked Ogi to answer a few questions about his backstory, art practice and experience with NFTs as a medium.
What led you to begin minting your work as NFTs?
I worked as a mo-grapher and animator. I was observing a friend go through the NFT creative journey — Metageist. I found it fascinating, as it seemed to offer a chance to mint some of my experimental work. At this point in my practice, I was experimenting with VR a lot, trying to find ways to integrate it into my workflow. There were many ideas I wanted to further work on and it seemed that it would provide a great opportunity to develop these experiments further. Then as I started to interact with the space, Chorismos happened, and it blasted me into it six months later, with Metageist curating.
Tell us more about how you find inspiration.
I always experiment, try out new workflows, read and watch tutorials. I draw, though these days mostly in VR, sketch ideas, snippets of world visions, quite often as a personal activity. I think at this point I have shared less than 10 percent of the art I make publicly as it’s all about the process itself. It’s important to have a wide knowledge. I’m very curious and, apart from art, design and creative theory, I research and read mythology, history, neuroscience, psychology, evolutionary biology, science papers, economics and whatever captures my attention and warrants a deeper dive. I try to live a creative life, establishing a baseline in a variety of disciplines. I keep sketchbooks and diaries full of art notes that I tend to cross-reference when developing a project.
To understand the world I am discovering, I write stories about it, meditate on it, visualize it fully, let it play in my mind, let its roots embed deep until they are part of my being, until I see it clearly. At this stage, I get to work. The process varies daily. Sometimes it’s hard. Quite often, though, I enter a state of flow and lucidly and create in a dream-like state as everything connects together eventually. Or so I hope.
What are you hoping to see in the next five years in the NFT space?
The technological advances are converging with the art, and there are wonderful new avenues that I would love to explore in the future.
Virtual lands are an exciting proposition. I’ve just built a gallery in the Metaverse and am excited to see that space grow in the future. I really want AR and VR to become an option. For my art practice, I build everything in VR first, so it would be amazing for others to experience it in such a stage. With Nanite tech coming this year, in five years’ time that may be a much stronger option. To have a VR experience, something like Chorismos, on a blockchain in all its glory would be a transcendent experience.
Of course we’re all also looking for that mass adoption as we believe in this decentralized project.
If you could be quoted as saying one thing about your work, what would it be?
With the power of VR and the way of animation!
What advice do you have for artists who are curious about NFTs and interested in minting their works?
Be brave. Be yourself. Be curious and talk to the community. Ask questions — everyone is always learning. Push yourself creatively — it’s an opportunity to really develop your artistic voice. Be genuine. Be authentic. Be human in interactions. Be patient with the space and yourself. Take time IRL to balance. Do GM. Do GN.
And remember: We’re just digital dust brought to life, then empowered by the Metaverse to figure itself out. And we have only just begun.
