Clara Bacou is an artist and animation director working across various platforms and mediums. Her art explores the hinterland of dreams, ghosts, and the animalistic forces that ebb and flow around us all. Her unique aesthetic has cemented her position as a defining voice for young artists and has named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the UK by the Financial Times.
Her AR clients include Snapchat, Universal, Gucci, Louvre Abu Dhabi, and more. Clara also worked as a curator for Tate Modern and Britain’s official youth collective, reaching a community of over 170,000 fans.
For Ghosting, Bacou is presenting one of her classic Crying Dragon pieces. She sat down with us to tell us more about creating visual universes with her art and how AR bridges the gap between digital artists and reality.
Tell us about what you’re presenting with Ghosting this summer
For Ghosting I am presenting my debut NFT piece Crying Dragon, with sound by Nick Scarcella in its AR form. Crying Dragon depicts what it describes, a large dragon bust sobbing globulous sculptural tears, in a contemporary 3D baroque style.
The description for this piece in its 3D form on SuperRare reads, “Sadness and grief are temporal, but the strength gained through going through these are eternal.”
As a digital artist, I love to use digital avatars to represent human emotions because they are not constrained by realistic representation. They have a universal language transcending cultural bias and are understood by everyone.
How does translating your work into AR form speak to your practice?
Translating work into the AR realm speaks to the practice of creating visual universes that we can now implement and let exist on top of our own. AR invites us to bring everything we create directly into the real world around us, which is infinitely exciting for artists.
Illust has supported me by facilitating my debut AR drop and allowing myself and other artists the chance to put AR onto the blockchain. I believe this exhibition is the start of opening many more doors in blockchain AR.
Here at Illust, we’re fascinated by the idea of space. Have you noticed that the cities you create in influence your work?
London has influenced me through its people, its culture, and its historic architecture.
I’m grateful for how much access to history I have in a city like London and how many incredibly old objects and buildings are around that I can directly observe, which is juxtaposed against all the modern aspects of our current technological living. It’s a really interesting combination, and I think it has influenced me to combine old and new styles all the time in my work.
How does blockchain technology support you as an artist?
The blockchain revolution feels unprecedented in the opportunities it has created for artists like me. It supports digital creators to have more secure autonomy over their work than ever before, creating whole new value structures where digital art practices can thrive intrinsically.
It’s accelerated the utility of my work as a digital artist and my ability to continue expanding on that utility, both in the short-term and long-term.
You can learn more about Clara and see more examples of her work here:
Instagram: @clarabacou
Twitter: @clarabacou
Website: clarabacou.com
Snapchat: @clarabacou