Izanami

More about Izanami

Some further symbolism and intentionality that went into the piece:

Sci-Fi/Mech Armor - Industry, machines, and technology don't have to be harmful to the planet, it can be beautiful too! In many cases they can be leveraged to greatly improve our knowledge and insights about how we interact with the earth. The armor coating Izanami is representative of the work the Open Earth Foundation. They're creating technology and tools to better improve our understanding of climate impact, carbon emission data, and hold entities accountable for the good/bad they're causing to the planet.

Floral Ornaments - To me, flowers and plants are the embodiment of creation and life. Their vivid colors, complex patterns, and mathematical structuring have always fascinated me and I often find myself drawn to artwork portraying floral elements during my travels. Flowers are historically a common subject matter and theme for various cultural artworks. No matter where I've traveled in the world, a ton of historical artwork ranging in age and geolocation have representations of floral patterns with their own cultural/visual twist. These elements in my work pay homage to centuries of diverse portrayals of flowers and floral patterns.

Eyes - To me, eyes are symbolic of observation and awareness. In addition to each of Izanami's heads, I have placed eyes as the center of the lower flower, over the heart, and over the third eye. These locations are symbolic and intentional. The floral eye is slowly undulating beneath the central spire's sharp point, representing the danger that lies ahead if we ignore climate change and we must face it head on as a species. The eye over the heart represents love and passion for this cause and this project. The third eye represents the knowledge, education, and thoughtfulness that we must channel to educate others and empower them to do their part to promote positive climate change.\ 

Ethereum Logos - The little easter egg in the piece. The Ethereum logos orbiting the earth represent the negative impact PoW (proof of work) algorithms have regarding energy consumption/their harm to the planet. While there are many benefits to blockchain technologies, supporting ones with minimal climate impact will be important as they gain mainstream adoption and application.

Artwork Info:

3840 x 2160 Resolution

Seamless Loop Audiovisual Animation

3 Week Creation Period

Audio for this piece is by Archimusic

Kyle’s Statement

My name is Kyle Gordon, and I'm an award winning multidisciplinary artist, creative director, experiential designer, and entrepreneur currently residing in San Francisco. If I had to describe what I do in one title, it would have to be "Professional Art Person". My work is heavily influenced by my love of music, natural/organic patterns, anime, contemporary art, life adventures, friends/family, and community. Between my company (Studio ZIRO) and contract work, I've spent the better part of the last decade creating audiovisual experiences, multidimensional video installations, brand identities, projection/lightwork experiments, and animated content for internationally acclaimed and Grammy nominated artists, music and cultural festivals, social entrepreneurship/ nonprofit organizations, and globally recognized brands. Odds are if you're been to a music festival or concert in the last decade, you've probably seen my work at least once…maybe twice if you're really a hardcore festival junky ;) When the pandemic hit a year ago, I pivoted from client focused work to taking a stab at creating my own art and working on personal projects/endeavors in the NFT space.

This piece is important to me for a variety of reasons. The first because I feel that I can tell a story through my artwork and set an example for other creators to use their art for positive impact. Additionally, this particular artwork is a pretty important milestone in my career as an artist. I haven't released much of my own personal work in the past few years, and often struggle with honing in on my own style/aesthetic since I jump between so many mediums and aesthetics from project to project. It also doesn't help that I'm a perfectionist and a harsh critic of my own work. Like no joke, I will literally spend DAYS fine tuning colors, getting the grain "just right", or experimenting well past where a normal person would consider a work complete.

I feel after this year of personal growth and creative explorations (and taking that risk of doing the personal art projects), I've finally honed in on an aesthetic with my work that I feel not only captures my own unique flair, but feels right to my core (which is really silly, vivid, and weird to be honest). I truly believe that aesthetics evolve and change over time with experimentation, but that doesn't manifest unless you put the time in trying new things and constantly find new ways to be inspired. This work is one of the first artworks I'm releasing that fine tunes years of notebook scribbles, notes/thoughts in journals/digital notebooks, visual deep dives, experimentation, and endless troughs of Pinterest boards.

This piece is called "Izanami". In Japanese mythology, Izanami is known as the goddess of creation and death. A lot of my work is heavily inspired by Japanese culture, anime, and fantasy, so I felt Izanami was the perfect embodiment of our climate drop's statement to the world. We have the responsibility to educate ourselves and others to be better to our home planet, because while it has the ability to provide beauty and life (creation), it also has the power to create destruction and chaos (death).

Special Thanks: 

I want to extend a huge thank you to Jehan (Kenetic Capital & Social Alpha Foundation) and Martin (Open Earth Foundation) for inviting me to participate in this project, it's an absolute pleasure to be amongst such amazing humans and talented creators. Thank you to the RenderToken team (Josh, Paige, Matthew, Mathis, Padi) for all their incredible support and power to render this piece on the RNDR network. Also a huge thank you to all my friends, family, loved ones, and shadow supporters who fully support me even if I go off the grid or into my work holes for weeks on end.