Nygilia is a gamer at heart — and it shows in her space-age output.
Raised on classic titles like “Final Fantasy” and “The Legend of Zelda,” the New York-based artist has embraced a wide range of mediums to bring her futuristic fantasies to life. Regularly blurring the lines between VR, AI and 3D design, she draws upon her multicultural upbringing for inspiration channeled through visual storytelling.
As prolific as she is imaginative, Nygilia has released her work widely across the web3 landscape, from Ethereum’s Nifty Gateway and Foundation to Tezos’ Objkt and Solana’s Exchange, exhibiting with the likes of Feral File, SuperChief, and at our very own Gateway Korea.
Every week, nft now’s Next Up unveils a new artist from our curated list of ascendant talents who have been making significant waves throughout web3. This week, our spotlight turns to Nygilia.
nft now: How did you first become interested/involved in digital art?
Nygilia: I became interested in digital art when I went overseas for my masters degree. In America, my style wasn’t being accepted or given a chance in the design field. I was denied many job and internship opportunities. Even in my undergraduate years, I was told to switch careers as they felt my work wasn’t up to standard. So I switched gears and literally left to go find myself as an artist. It was a great risk. And that was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life.
How would you describe your art?
I would describe it as Y2K aesthetic meets gaming and culture. I enjoy creating worlds and immersive character art that is inspired by my roots. My family is from many places such as Jamaica, Germany, Romania, and Italy. I love to create with a posthuman vision.
“I would describe [my art] as Y2K aesthetic meets gaming and culture. I enjoy creating worlds and immersive character art that is inspired by my roots.”
NYGILIA
What’s your process like? And where do you usually find inspiration?
My process is a combination of research, watching, listening, and gameplay. I really do a lot of concept building before I decide what piece I want to dive into. I also take time to play RPG games to gain further inspiration from storylines, environments, and even character dialogue too. There are a lot of layers to building a world. It’s not always literal. It’s complex emotions being explored in various ways.
What was your breakthrough moment in web3?
I would say my breakthrough moment was my artwork ‘Fireflies in the Cabana’ being collected on SuperRare by Batsoupyum. The reason I say this moment is because the piece was very personal and I also had it up for months. I wasn’t sure where my web 3 experience was going to go and when that sale happened, which was also my highest 1/1 sale to date, I think it gave a boost for not only momentum from various communities, but that my style was getting recognized. That the stories I’m telling matter and worth all those long nights at my desk.
“A lot of underrepresented artists miss out due to their passport restrictions. I hope we can continue to do the work for those that can’t be present at events.”
NYGILIA
What are the biggest challenges facing rising artists in web3?
The greatest challenge I think rising artists have in web3 is time and access. Even though web3 is great to find opportunities, it’s also very time consuming. It’s all about community and engaging with various audiences. Unlike your typical fine art curation, the positive is you can make your own projects happen through collaboration. It just unfortunately takes time to do those things. So you got to be organized and know what you can/can’t handle.
Also recognizing what is or isn’t for you. Never healthy to force it. In addition to this, there are privileges to travel to different countries and go to irl life events and meet collectors, galleries, etc. A lot of people don’t have that access as easy due to their government systems and borders. Although web3 may seem borderless, there is still much work to be done. A lot of underrepresented artists miss out due to their passport restrictions. I hope we can continue to do the work for those that can’t be present at events. To me, that’s what web3 means. It’s the little things.
What advice do you have for rising artists in this space?
Never stop creating your own world. I think it’s easy to fall into a trap of trending art and making what collectors like. You should always make what you like at the end of the day. And no collector should tell you how to define yourself. It’s important to be mindful and still listen to advice when it’s shared, but always stay true to your craft. Take what is necessary and proceed forward. That is what makes art beautiful.
The post Next Up: Nygilia Crafts Posthuman Visions in Pixelated Dreams appeared first on nft now.