Mitte,
Berlin
Berlin
Inspired by the exquisite corpse method, curator Marco Brambilla brought together three contemporary artists: Simon Denny, Rachel Rossin and Willem de Rooij, to develop a collection of a series of works that visually and conceptually reflects and responds to one another’s practice.
Curator
Marco Brambilla
Artists
Simon Denny
Rachel Rossin
Willem de Rooij
Touching upon themes of cross cultural collaboration, decentralization, power structures and ownership, their artistic exchange is rich with art historical and sociopolitical references to wealth and the state of crypto currency. Collectively, their unique processes and practices write a fresh narrative on the world we live in today.
Scroll down to unfold the creation process and view the complete collection. Spheres of Power was commissioned by Voice in Summer 2021.
Spheres of Power
Curator
Marco Brambilla
Artists
Simon Denny
Rachel Rossin
Willem de Rooij
Inspired by the exquisite corpse method, curator Marco Brambilla brought together three contemporary artists: Simon Denny, Rachel Rossin and Willem de Rooij, to develop a collection of a series of works that visually and conceptually reflects and responds to one another’s practice.
Touching upon themes of cross cultural collaboration, decentralization, power structures and ownership, their artistic exchange is rich with art historical and sociopolitical references to wealth and the state of crypto currency. Collectively, their unique processes and practices write a fresh narrative on the world we live in today.
Scroll down to unfold the creation process and view the complete collection. Spheres of Power was commissioned by Voice in Summer 2021.
custom cotton throw blanket, tff
A screen grab is made of a "Hippocratic Oath Throw Blanket”, a product offered by the “White House Gift Shop” website memorializing the famous doctor’s oath including “First do no harm”. The screen grab is then jacquard-woven into a new throw blanket, photographed and minted as an NFT.
image, png
Warping I-III is a set of three NFTs, each of which warps a representation of the Dutch empire. Based on Melchior d’Hondecoeter’s ‘The Menagerie’ (ca. 1690), ‘Warping I’ imagines a viewer’s perspective onto that painting in its initial location above the door of king William III’s private apartment at Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn. The image on which ‘Warping I’ is based is accessible free of copyright via Rijksmuseum.nl.
Wilmersdorf,
Berlin
Berlin
Dumbo,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Video, mp4
The work consists of a motion capture sock-puppet floating in front of a screen recording taken from the artist’s hard drive from 2009 - 2011. The recording shows parts of the original Bitcoin client first launched for mining cryptocurrency by Satoshi Nakamoto. The virtual sock puppet performed by the artist’s hand floating above, refers to sock-puppet accounts - a tactic first used in military state interventions where a fake virtual persona is created in order to exercise influence.
custom cotton throw blanket, tff
A screen grab showing “$1000 note” socks produced for Trump’s 2020 campaign, as offered by the “White House Gift Shop,” is woven into a throw blanket. The reverse side of the jacquard blanket is photographed, inverting the colour palette of the website. The photo is minted as an NFT.
Mitte,
Berlin
Berlin
Wilmersdorf,
Berlin
Berlin
image, png
‘Warping II’ references Jan Weenix’ ‘Hunting and Fruit Still Life next to a Garden Vase with a Monkey, Dog and two Doves, in the distance Rijksdorp near Wassenaar, Seat of Jacob Emmery, Baron of Wassenaar’ (1714), visualizing the connection between Weenix’ cousin d’Hondecoeter and his apprentice Dirk Valkenburg. The image on which ‘Warping II’ is based is accessible free of copyright via Rijksmuseum.nl.
Video, mp4
Simon Denny's response was a simulation made of a virtual reality motion capture performing in front of a browser window that was navigating whitehousegiftshop.com that focused on the collectible coins marking historic events that are representational currencies only. The audio component involves a sourced clip of military doctors taking the hippocratic oath.
Dumbo,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Mitte,
Berlin
Berlin
custom cotton throw blanket, tff
A screen grab is made of a “butterfly” throw blanket offered by the “White House Gift Shop” website memorializing Michelle Obama’s pollinator garden initiative. The screen grab is then jacquard-woven into a new throw blanket, photographed and minted as an NFT.
image, png
‘Warping III’ replicates the formal logic of Dirk Valkenburg’s ‘Still Life with Dead Hare and Partridges’ (1717). Valkenburg references Dutch empire by situating local objects in a foreign landscape: the hunt as an ornament of landownership is collaged onto the exotic unknown. The image on which ‘Warping II’ is based is accessible free of copyright via Rijksmuseum.nl.
Wilmersdorf,
Berlin
Berlin
Dumbo,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Video, mp4
The response to Willem de Rooijs NFT is rendered from an open simulation that features his original NFT on a cloth simulation with the virtual reality motion capture sock puppet performing to a library of audio samples taken from the specific creatures represented in the painting.
Mitte,
Berlin
Berlin
custom cotton throw blanket, tff
A screen grab is made of a "Hippocratic Oath Throw Blanket”, a product offered by the “White House Gift Shop” website memorializing the famous doctor’s oath including “First do no harm”. The screen grab is then jacquard-woven into a new throw blanket, photographed and minted as an NFT.
Wilmersdorf,
Berlin
Berlin
image, png
Warping I-III is a set of three NFTs, each of which warps a representation of the Dutch empire. Based on Melchior d’Hondecoeter’s ‘The Menagerie’ (ca. 1690), ‘Warping I’ imagines a viewer’s perspective onto that painting in its initial location above the door of king William III’s private apartment at Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn. The image on which ‘Warping I’ is based is accessible free of copyright via Rijksmuseum.nl.
Dumbo,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Video, mp4
The work consists of a motion capture sock-puppet floating in front of a screen recording taken from the artist’s hard drive from 2009 - 2011. The recording shows parts of the original Bitcoin client first launched for mining cryptocurrency by Satoshi Nakamoto. The virtual sock puppet performed by the artist’s hand floating above, refers to sock-puppet accounts - a tactic first used in military state interventions where a fake virtual persona is created in order to exercise influence.
Mitte,
Berlin
Berlin
custom cotton throw blanket, tff
A screen grab showing “$1000 note” socks produced for Trump’s 2020 campaign, as offered by the “White House Gift Shop,” is woven into a throw blanket. The reverse side of the jacquard blanket is photographed, inverting the colour palette of the website. The photo is minted as an NFT.
Wilmersdorf,
Berlin
Berlin
image, png
‘Warping II’ references Jan Weenix’ ‘Hunting and Fruit Still Life next to a Garden Vase with a Monkey, Dog and two Doves, in the distance Rijksdorp near Wassenaar, Seat of Jacob Emmery, Baron of Wassenaar’ (1714), visualizing the connection between Weenix’ cousin d’Hondecoeter and his apprentice Dirk Valkenburg. The image on which ‘Warping II’ is based is accessible free of copyright via Rijksmuseum.nl.
Dumbo,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Video, mp4
Simon Denny's response was a simulation made of a virtual reality motion capture performing in front of a browser window that was navigating whitehousegiftshop.com that focused on the collectible coins marking historic events that are representational currencies only. The audio component involves a sourced clip of military doctors taking the hippocratic oath.
Mitte,
Berlin
Berlin
custom cotton throw blanket, tff
A screen grab is made of a “butterfly” throw blanket offered by the “White House Gift Shop” website memorializing Michelle Obama’s pollinator garden initiative. The screen grab is then jacquard-woven into a new throw blanket, photographed and minted as an NFT.
Wilmersdorf,
Berlin
Berlin
image, png
‘Warping III’ replicates the formal logic of Dirk Valkenburg’s ‘Still Life with Dead Hare and Partridges’ (1717). Valkenburg references Dutch empire by situating local objects in a foreign landscape: the hunt as an ornament of landownership is collaged onto the exotic unknown. The image on which ‘Warping II’ is based is accessible free of copyright via Rijksmuseum.nl.
Dumbo,
Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Video, mp4
The response to Willem de Rooijs NFT is rendered from an open simulation that features his original NFT on a cloth simulation with the virtual reality motion capture sock puppet performing to a library of audio samples taken from the specific creatures represented in the painting.
Collecting Spheres of Power
Spheres of Power was created as a cohesive collection. A collector acquiring all 9 NFTs, they will receive the 10th artwork, a physical exquisite corpse hand drawn collaboratively by the three artists. A collector acquiring any 3 NFTs will also receive bonus content. However, each work within the collection is available for individual purchase.
Purchase any 3 NFTs to receive this bonus NFT
Purchase any 3 NFTs of the collection to receive this bonus NFT
Please contact [email protected] with any questions.
Meet
the
Studio
Meet the
Studio
Curated by: Marco Brambilla
Marco Brambilla is an artist living and working in London. Brambilla engages with art history, the spectacle of pop culture and technology across a variety of visual and electronic media. His pioneering use of imaging and 3D technologies has led to numerous collaborations with NASA, Marina Abramovic and Kanye West.
Simon Denny
Simon Denny is a New Zealand born, Berlin based artist who makes objects, images and exhibitions exploring the cultures and values behind contemporary technologies. He has exhibited in major museums and institutions across the world and his work is held in institutional collections internationally. Denny co-founded the mentoring program BPA//Berlin Program for Artists and is a professor for Time Based Media at the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg, HFBK.
Rachel Rossin
Born 1987, in West Palm Beach, Florida. Rachel Rossin is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist who has gained recognition for her exhibitions that blend oil painting, sculpture, 3D animation and virtual reality. Rossin’s practice acts on the metabolism between physical and digital exchange, investigating the ways information and sensory experience are transfigured by each.
Willem de Rooij
Willem de Rooij investigates how images work. Appropriations and collaborations inform his method, facilitating research in art history and ethnography. De Rooij is a professor at the Städelschule in Frankfurt, an advisor at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam and co-founder of BPA // Berlin program for artists.