Original Score and Sound Design.
By JiaAiLi
The Road Ahead / 前程
– minted on April 4, 2022.
– minted on April 4, 2022.
This NFT is created by Jia Aili & David Ariew, in the genesis collection – On Sparks and Souls, curated by Triple X.
"The Road Ahead" is a passionate development of the painting created by Jia Aili back in 2007 – "Nameless Day 2," which is measured 267 x 400 cm : The character is in a wasteland, but the remnants of once industrial civilization can still be seen, though abandoned. In his poem "The Waste Land," British poet T. S. Eliot once said, "This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a whimper."
David Ariew describes: "Faceless and timeless, the watcher idles in a daydreaming state. Society moves without him, creating more room for his playground."
"At first glance, the audience may interpret the scene as post-apocalyptic and feel sad for the character, but that’s just a first impression. The character may be filled with hope for all we know, and Aili is often a fan of the absurd, creating tension and contrast between light and dark elements in his works, such as a character with a gas mask in a field of flowers. I connected with this piece not just because it’s visually stunning, but because I felt that I could explore Aili's world and delve further into the story where it was left off. That’s a huge challenge, as I wanted the piece to remain authentic to the original painting, so I introduced the balloon descending, an element used in other paintings of Aili's, to create a bit of confusion and distract or entertain the character from his observation of the rocket launch."
Another statement from David Ariew: "My goal was to enhance the world Aili had already dreamed up, and let the animation embody what I hope are similar feelings that went into the original painting. If you come away from watching the piece feeling any emotions, or with thoughts and questions, then I think I’ve succeeded."
Score and sound design by Abel Okugawa.
This is a groundbreaking collaboration curated and directed by Derrick Li (aka "X") from Triple X, a collaboration between one of the most prominent Contemporary Chinese Artists: Jia Aili, represented exclusively by Gagosian Gallery & renowned digital artists in the NFT native space: Raoul Marks, David Ariew, and Ryan Hawthorne. This collaboration aims to shift the attention back to the content, creativity, essence of art, and most importantly, blur the gap between the Contemporary Art world and the Digital World.
The creations are based on Jia's paintings, mixed with his visions and art philosophy, with personal inputs, mediums, styles, interpretations and "signatures" from digital artists. This collaboration is a "conversation through art," between different mediums, the East and the West; a conversation that connects the past, present and future.
Jia："This new technology and 'canvas' has provided an opportunity for us to witness, and contribute to the history of art and humanities for the future. Art is the light of the spirit. It enlightens the dust of the mind. We should aspire for transcendence.
"X"："Great Art can and should be able to cause ripples in peoples' hearts, and resonate with any type of feelings from the heart. We are certain that this project will pave the road for art and innovations in NFTs and create a broader art world. This also marks the beginning of something remarkable in Art History."