Disecting the future of art environment, Veronica Osipova a multidisciplinary artist, speaks on her digital ambiance as an escape from reality.

Hi Veronica, let's begin with discussing your current life. How is it going with you in the post-pandemic season? And how was the lockdown for you?

Hey Jag,
To be honest, winter 2020 went relatively smoothly. My life has always been quite eventful and slowing down seemed like a nice gift. Then came spring and a lot of random vaccine controls. I already wanted to visit my favorite places and have a social life, but in some places, it was stressful, since I am an ex-pat and I did not have the right to be vaccinated at that time. I had to do a lot of tests instead in order to live a normal life.
The next wave was in 2021, winter and spring in the Czech Republic turned out to be very cold and gray. It took me back to my childhood in Belarus, when the cold, the grayness of the sky, trees, and the city merge into one color from November to April, I did not like this semi seasons. This similarity did not benefit my psychological health. Coupled with the restriction of social life, motivation and joy left my life.
Frankly speaking, I fully realized the consequences of the lockdown this summer. When the warm summer sun finally came and I felt alive, I had the energy to work and play - I realized how long I had been in hibernation. I also began to rush to live. I have planned trips for this summer, a festival with my favorite performers, seeing more of my friends, and postponing my projects for a few months to get the necessary boost of energy that will warm me up for the next months. To be honest, now I'm afraid that winter is coming and this whole story will repeat again.

Out of all the various creative outlets that you channel and practice, which is your recent favorite and why? How was life for you growing up?

As I wrote above, there were two seasons in Belarus - a juicy beautiful summer and a gray winter. About half of my life there was filled with depressive thoughts.
On one hand: the dictatorial regime and its influence on people, which you don’t understand yet, but you already catch something bad in the conversations of adults. Parents not living together, betrayals and divorces in all family units, from grandparents to aunts and uncles. A grandmother with the beginnings of schizophrenia, to whom my sister and I were left for long weeks in the summer.
On the other hand: something, that saved me.
A loving mother who never put me down. I will understand the strict love of my father much later. I went to art school from the first grade. There I really met a lot of people close to me in spirit, as well as my best friends. Only later I did realize how rare and fortunate it was to meet such people in such early periods of my life.
I think creativity from childhood has already helped me digest a difficult environment. In elementary school, we had composition lessons twice a week. In middle school, composition, painting, drawing, and in addition, every year it was necessary to try something new - batik, ceramics, glass painting, straw. In college, we taught typographic design, and how to make packaging, business cards, and books. There was a lot of academic drawing and painting in which I was not as successful as in the decorative arts. There was a feeling that if I didn’t succeed in academic studies, I couldn’t become an artist.
It took me several years to get rid of the feeling of worthlessness and start painting again. As of now, drawing and ceramics are still with me. I draw my sketches for 3D works, I draw sketches for tattoos, which I do in the hand poke technique. Tattoos and ceramics have a similar calming effect on me. You concentrate on only one thing at a time and the brain rests at that moment. It's like creative meditation.

How did you begin working on your digital crafts? You mentioned in your previous interview about your common theme is “dreams”. What fascinates you about this subject?

In fact, 3D turned out to be at the intersection of my interests, knowledge, and hobbies. After studying at an art school, I studied in the faculty of architecture at the university. I explored different 3d software for my learning needs and drew to relieve the stress from learning architecture. When I was studying for my master's degree, I discovered that there are 3d artists. With a combination of my skills and fear of making mistakes in the physical world, I finally felt like I had found my place.
Why dreams? We can be completely free there, be ourselves, and satisfy all our needs.
Dreams shift the boundaries of our consciousness. In some sense, they are innovative, because in this way we can touch a non-existent world. I like to create things that don't exist, although the elements in my world are familiar to us from the physical world.
My world is in some kind of parallel, where feelings are lived much more intensely and sincerely, and time passes more slowly.

I'd like to know a bit about your artistic direction. What is the process for you to follow a particular creative orientation? What intentions do you keep in mind?

I try to bring to each project what I'm interested in, including my universe.
And this universe has certain criteria based on what I like. For example, the visual part for me is a bright saturated color, experiments with light, magic, and natural elements. In the semantic part, I am interested in self-love, trauma, the cycle of human life, abstract themes like life and death, the contact between the past and the future, and the natural beginning in each of us.
In order to achieve the most accurate realization of the primary image, I make sketches and create works based on them. I also do research on the topic to supplement the work with meanings.
Often in an idea, before creating it in digital reality, I leave a few unknowns that I spend time in the process of creating. It makes my process more intuitive and interactive, engaging and exciting.
I also always keep in mind that, to a certain extent, the mismatch between the image in my head and the final result is also normal. This leaves me a place for experimentation in the process.

Speaking of creative direction and process… the metaverse world is beginning to pick up its pace, If you have to describe your digital avatar and its world with all its characteristics. How would you describe it?

Oh, I would definitely be a human-cat hybrid! With a human face and a humanoid physique, but always with ears of an elven form, mustache, tail, and pink fur 😍 I am impressed by the cat's strength and dexterity. When it comes to clothes, I would have only a variety of metal jewelry all over my body. Each of them would have hidden a gadget - binoculars, a compass, a harpoon, etc. The main ability would definitely be teleportation.
I think it would be a magical world. Every creature had certain abilities that would complement the main talent. There would be different natural zones, somewhere seas and islands soaring above them, somewhere rocks with soaring water bubbles, somewhere an iridescent forest.
There would be many overflows of glass, shiny, iridescent. The main color of the vision filter would change depending on the choice of each character in its own way, it would be fashionable to switch from filter to filter. Each filter will have a dominant color with details of complementary colors to discharge. Each color filter will have its own magical gadgets and ways to pass the time. All users could meet in rainbow zones. Probably something like this is how I imagine it.

Please tell me what more you are planning to work on for such a space that is constantly evolving and growing. What it is like to be working with the inevitable developments of technology. Please describe the innovative means that fascinate you.

Definitely one of the most interesting and exciting for me is VR. I still think it has very little implementation and expects a big expansion in the near future. I would like it to be used in the learning process in schools, for example, to study history, at exhibitions one could go to new worlds and interact with art, of course, a new standard for games and for meditation.
I myself dream of making a magical garden, deserted and found again Eden, where the viewer will be surrounded by original giant flowers, insects, and snakes. The human scale will be small relative to them. At the same time, mechanisms of interaction with objects should be invented. It would also be great to see other users at this moment.
By the way, watch the anime Ryu to Sobakasu no Hime! A possible metaverse concept is shown very well, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing something like this!
Further, it is very interesting for me to observe the development of AI, in all areas, but primarily in art. It's especially interesting to see the combination of digital work and AI because they are from the same dimension, together they give even more depth and it looks natural. Also, I have already seen even 3d animations made by AI, it's incredible. Indeed, we have to ask ourselves more and more often: what makes me different, what is my strength, what can I give to this world, unlike AI?
Another thing that fascinates me is 3D printing. We are already able to print houses, a prosthetic heart, and food - what will happen next? I really look forward to seeing when this technology will be used everywhere. Also being able to print from recycled plastic is ingenious. From our garbage, we must create the resource we need.

Art as both cultural rebellion and redefinition.. What are your thoughts on the rise of augmented reality?

In my opinion, this is the very bridge that will even more closely connect the physical and digital worlds in everyday use. Perception of both at the same time. I think AR will become the main tool that is easy to use both for shopping (trying on shoes, choosing a chair for an apartment), and for cultural life - theaters, museums, exhibitions, and games in the physical space - quests, chess, whatever.
Thanks to it, later we will be able to integrate the metaverse with our lives with a minimum of effort, just a phone.

If immersive art experiences can change the way we will live life. What future do you imagine for physical artworks?

So far, I do not believe that the digital world will completely replace the physical world.
Physical art was created before many technologies were discovered, and I believe that the greatest impression and experience from it might only be obtained in the way that the artist created and saw it. That is, in physical space.
This summer I saw Kandinsky's works live for the first time. I often heard about him from teachers of art history and in general various references. I have seen his work in books and online. He was a prominent figure in his field. But his work did not evoke any response or even interest in me. Until I saw them live. To perceive his works, you need to be in them in the same space. Understand with receptors, not with meanings.
It seems to me that in its development everything will come to the fact that the physical and digital worlds will be interconnected. There will always be someone who is more interested in being in the digital world, and someone in the physical world.
To some extent, I even fear that the physical world may become a luxury item not available to everyone.
I guess the value of these physical arts and crafts will only grow in value and uniqueness.

Last but not least, What do you think about the consequences of the metaverse? What do you focus on to stay alert or mindful of while entering such a digital territory?

I think we are already users, although the metaverse has not yet reached its final form.
Attention disorder, haunting boredom, FOMO, and so on - all these are the challenges of the new time and new ones will appear.
Still, the metaverse is still a new and developing territory.
What you need to remember are your comfort and mental health. Enjoy moments of discovery. Do not consume content automatically, or unconsciously. Pause, and give your head a rest. Give yourself as much time as you need. Remember to stretch and keep your back straight. Sounds like very general tips, but they will come in handy in any situation :)