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Sanctuary

Ryan Koopmans & Alice Wexell

Sanctuary

3D
Photography
Nature
Architecture

'Sanctuary' is a digital artwork that conveys a compelling narrative about the cycle of time, the resurgence of nature, and the socio-historical nuances of architectural landscapes. This 1/1 piece is a collision of the past and future, as well as the physical and digital worlds.

Part of the chapter 'Symphony' from the collection 'The Wild Within', 'Sanctuary' brings an abandoned historic building back to life by combining photography and animation to create a surreal, meditative, moving architectural space. The artwork aims to revive this vacant space, essentially bringing life back into the building.

Ryan Koopmans and his partner Alice Wexell traveled around the world exploring and photographing forsaken buildings and unique architectural sites. They were drawn to these locations based on their historical, cultural, and architectural qualities. Locations include ancient temples in the mountains of Armenia, abandoned villas in Lebanon and Italy, sanatoriums in Georgia, ruined villas in the Middle East and beyond. Once the architecture is photographed, the images are modelled into virtual environments, and overgrown plant-life is added digitally. Lighting and structure are then modified, an original musical composition by Swedish composer Karl-David Larson is created, and the static picture is transformed into a moving image that loops seamlessly.

‘Sanctuary’ finds its artistic expression against the backdrop of an abandoned health spa in the outskirts of the country Georgia. Upon collapse of the USSR in the early 1990s, sanatoriums and other similar buildings fell into disrepair. The historic architecture serves as a perfect canvas for the artists to unleash their creativity, resulting in a meditative artwork that brings new life to this timeless setting. In real life, this building continues to deteriorate and is being slowly disassembled, further emphasizing the primary theme of the work, the passing of time in a cycle of growth and decay.

Through these artworks, the artists aim to transport the viewer into an alternate place and time. This fusing of documentary-style photography with the imaginative potential of animation techniques results in a captivating looping digital artwork. Apart from the tradable NFT, 'Sanctuary' offers an additional immersive experience developed with Wildxyz.

format

landscape

technique

duration

00:40

year

2023

Transport

Ryan Koopmans & Alice Wexell

Sweden

Ryan Koopmans (BA, MFA) and Alice Wexell are an artistic duo whose practice explores the intersections between architecture, nature, and collective memory. Ryan, born in Amsterdam in 1986 and raised on Vancouver Island, studied geography, art history, and psychology at the University of British Columbia before earning a master’s degree in photography, video, and related media at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Alice, based in Stockholm, honed her skills in animation and coding at Lund University in Sweden. Their collaboration combines Ryan’s photographic eye, fascinated by urban structures and their relationship with nature, with Alice’s digital expertise, driven by a passion for creating surreal environments through innovative technologies. Together, they transform abandoned spaces into animated works of art, where digital vegetation, light, and movement breathe new life into places steeped in history, creating a visual poetry that bridges the past and the future. Their flagship project, The Wild Within, launched in 2021, marked a turning point in their careers by reinventing forgotten buildings through a digital rebirth. Their approach, both conceptual and visually striking, has established them as leading figures in contemporary digital art.

Their works, exhibited from Beijing to Miami, including stops in Seoul, Stockholm, and Montreal, have been featured in prestigious institutions and galleries such as Christie’s, Sotheby’s, the Leila Heller Gallery, and the Swedish Pavilion, and highlighted in international media outlets such as Vogue, GQ Middle East, The National, and WIRED. Their work, collected by digital art funds and private collectors, has also been the subject of collaborations with renowned brands and institutions, such as Mercedes-Benz, BOTTO, and SuperRare.

Sanctuary

technique

format

landscape

duration

00:40

year

2023

Transport

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