Today we introduce our artists from ULTRAMARIN in Venice – please meet the Brazilian artist Gabriel Massan. He shows three works at once with extraordinary digital landscapes that captivate with their crystalline ephemerality and oscillating amorphous structures. His artistic practice deals with the interdependent relationship between fictional existences and digital environments and the investigation of representational possibilities of colorfulness, personal identity and time. We met him in advance for an interview – but read for yourself:

VRHAM!: At ULTRAMARIN – An immersive Exhibition you are represented with the animated video work THE DANCE FROM BELOW /BANHEIRA DE GESSO / NO ADVENTURE LAND (WMG). What relation does your work have to the theme of the Exhibition: “water”?

GABRIEL MASSAN: My research explores the performance of the organic through digital sculptures. The liquidity of movement in animation and the experimentation in habitat construction are influenced by the possible presence of water in these fictitious bodies and atmospheres. I also work with the development of fluids and watery surfaces that simulate rivers, lakes and seas, that devastate and/or bathe the lives I dedicate myself to imagine.

There is hardly a city like Venice that fits better to the theme of ULTRAMARIN: What is special for you about the lagoon city and what are you looking forward to the most?

I like the power that water exerts over the city, which defines precisely the way we enter and navigate this territory. The force of this existence that advances and advances over us and over our choices. Returning to Venice in the same year, but now rethinking its power and peculiarity is very significant for the work I have been developing as an artist.

What current developments in the field of digital art are you observing at the moment: which techniques do you already use, which innovations would you like to use (more) of, and how do technical developments influence your work?

My work takes shape digitally. My drafts are virtual. I start by using techniques in digital sculpture, digital painting and 3D animation. These compositions are firstly presented through video art and still images, like photographs. Then I explore augmented reality filters, proximity sensors, sound reaction and virtual reality. In the last two years I’ve been focusing on games and interactivity. The next step would be to integrate these environments with live simulations and mixed reality performances. The way I present my work defines the interpretations and impacts I will have on the public. Understanding what brings me closer and what pushes me away is crucial to develop a critique of the bridge between the different dimensions I explore.