Partner Artist Spotlight: Petra

  • September 4, 2024
Gamma Team
Gamma Team

To begin, could you share a bit about you as a person and your artistic journey? How did you start creating digital art, and what led you to release your work using Bitcoin ordinals? How has that experience been?

I have decided to live my journey in the arts in a non-linear way, or well, I perceive it that way. I started this journey dancing and moving because my body told me to, I had to listen to it and venture into a long and difficult path. I graduated from the School of Arts at the University of Guadalajara, specializing in contemporary dance. My work as a dancer was mutating with the years and experience, I learned several techniques, somatic, release, graham, limón, feldenkrais, body theater, contact improvisation, and I liked to flow with each of them, but I always had the restlessness of wanting to find other dynamics of dance towards the non-conventional and classic, dancing in the streets with works made with the collective I was in at that time, and in festivals that seemed interesting to me, as they proposed another approach to the scenic ritual. From there I was also interested in other styles and currents, such as video art, dance on screen, and experimentation from the body, with other media, and the pandemic ended up accentuating my interest in technology intersecting with dance.

My first digital works are explorations about the body that were born from my own interests and some classes, workshops or creative pretexts that made me take the tools and build things, videos, images, research on platforms, new software, etc. When I got to make my first NFTs, I knew that something in me, in my career was changing, and I think it's my way of visualizing the media as part of our interests that arise from art. Ordinals have been that kind of medium that destiny, my friends, and my decisions have led me to where I am. I feel very fortunate and privileged to create art in ordinals, it feels like I am expanding among the networks of movement, web3, technology, and the internet.

 

How would you describe your artistic approach, and what elements or themes do you frequently explore in your creations? What feels authentic to you when creating?

Once a friend told me that my work was too eclectic and I liked that definition, so I could describe myself as that. There is nothing linear, the themes can vary from one extreme to another, without definition or classification. Some elements I am interested in exploring are improvisation, transhumanism, identity, synthetic art, transmedia narratives, and generative dance. From this, I could say that my interest has neither feet nor head, sometimes I think it’s like transferring dance through the web. Well, I think it keeps mutating too, and if it comes from something that can excite you or you can feel it, I feel it’s something that becomes authentic, and that’s where it goes.

 

How does creating on BTC enhance or influence your artistic expression? Has it been a different experience for you in comparison to other blockchains?

At the moment I discovered how to freely make ordinals on Bitcoin, I realized it was going to be a unique and very interesting opportunity to keep expanding my possibilities, and since Bitcoin is one of the currencies I respect the most, I learned how to make them very quickly. I really liked continuing to investigate what type of technology it was. First, I started making stamps and that began to inspire me to create on the mother of blockchains.

Being in ordinals I think has given me a bit of security in my work, tokenizing it and creating various pieces that are generative, images, animations, being in different media fills a very important place for me and I would like to continue working on it, investigating and seeing how to collaborate with these tools.

 

Could you highlight some of your works that hold special significance to you, and share the stories or inspirations behind them?

One of the pieces that meets these conditions is "Al tercer Queue." It was born from a very genuine exploration with p5, then I realized that my sketches could be ordinals and I came across the OCM library/protocol, which helped me make this possible, besides the help of some colleagues also from Gamma and that I know on Twitter. I knew that my choreographic games with code had a special value and that's how I came to inscribe this work as part of a concept that interests me a lot which is machinic, algorithmic choreography. I love to symbolize these objects as bodies that play scenic dynamics but on the canvas.

 

Before diving into digital art, did you have a background in traditional art forms? How has your artistic journey evolved, and in what ways has the transition to digital art impacted your creative process?

Yes, my traditional journey started with Mexican regional dance, I danced for many years in various groups and companies in my locality, I traveled to some states and met very interesting people. Then I moved towards modern dance, contemporary, ballet, experimental dance, video dance, performance, etc. As I mentioned at the beginning, I have always liked to mutate or transform my creations, so that journey continues to be very interesting and I like how it has been so far. I feel that this transition between the traditional and now the new media, has allowed me to appreciate and continue on this line from observation, experimentation, and curiosity, to know what else there is to discover in art with AI for example, where it can take me being an entity that moves and creates from the body in movement.

 

Are there specific lessons or insights you've gained that have shaped you beyond your role as an artist?

I think I have learned many very valuable things and from my interest, I have appropriated them, I like that and I feel fulfilled with it. There is a phrase/lesson I learned from a friend and it has become my manifesto: "less is more."

I like this feeling of adaptability, I like how it feels and lives. Dance taught me a lot about that, unfortunately or fortunately, I mean in many senses, economic, personal growth, struggle, and resistance. I feel that the same thing happens in the digital universe and it fills me with curiosity about how I will continue to develop in the coming years. I feel that I have lived experiences that are valuable and met people I already consider friends, thanks to that I have also had the opportunity to work through DAOs for example, which have been some of the coolest experiences, meeting people who really want to know other ecosystems, people who allow us to implement technology as part of oneself and life, that already means something impressive and unique to me.

 

Looking ahead, what are your aspirations as a digital artist using Bitcoin ordinals? Are there specific projects or goals you are working towards?

I am working on many things at the same time, I like to suddenly give myself my times for something specific or something that requires more attention. Currently, I am investigating more about ordinals, runes, and the development that Bitcoin has as technology, I am very interested in immersive and generative art, so something combining all these tools would be interesting to create.

 

What advice would you offer emerging artists based on your experiences and insights gained so far?

I have always thought it is important to be curious/observant. If something can serve you, why not learn from it and look for the best way to develop it for mutual benefit? Pursue your dreams and open your mind.

 

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