Phasing – NFTs on Foundation
About This Project
Phasing is a 7 part exploration of self discovery, and establishing healthy relationships with our former and future selves.
TSP Foundation page can be found here: foundation.app/theskinproject
Orbán Isma designed and created this project in April of 2021, with the intention of creating a series that explores the acute processes of self discovery we experienced during 2020, through a medium defined by intense catharsis.
Dealing with themes of avoidance, engagement, and release, Phasing is the result of introspection not just by the designer, but the collaborative group that made it possible. By improving our relationships to our past and future selves, we become better people for not just ourselves, but the communities we share space with. As we come out of a pandemic that forced mass isolation, we are learning to reconnect with others. It is more meaningful if our connections are healthier than they were before.
Each of the 7 phases are a progression of the phase that came before it. From a state of lethargy to a realization of hope, it examines our cycles of self growth and realization.
As a group, here in NYC, from lock-downs to partial re-opens, to full on social engagement, we are more motivated than ever to pursue creative projects that focus on healing and catharsis, especially those that viscerally throw one into states of self-realization. To be gentle with the self, we must face harsh truths. Suspension is a modus that meets this requirement.
NFT Art
None of these loops are 3D renders; they are made of rope, steel, and a human having an experience while hanging from hooks pierced into her flesh. These are real world assets, digitized into an endless state.
The purpose of offering these for purchase as NFTs is part of our journey from the past, and into a future where our notions of the art economy reflect our personal paradigms shifts as well. Corporatism and end-stage capitalism is the real endemic. Current banking systems exist for the rich to retain control, and the poor to stay poor. The “art world” and its subsequent economy plays into this, and is enabled by this very system, making it impossible for talented artists to be seen, supported, and find their audiences – unless they can “buy in.”
Acknowledging that things are changing is difficult sometimes, but we have to start somewhere. The act of permeating out art in digital realms opens the possibility of reaching more people with our ideas, and to collaborate over new mediums with different artists.
It also serves as a function of helping marginalized, and subculture driven artists gain some agency over their financial well being. It’s still a lot of work, but we are hopeful that crypto spaces will help us get out of our debts, help address our health related needs, and put some food on the table of those that are struggling post pandemic as well.
All profits from successful bids (including any secondary market sales) for these pieces will be split with the respective models and technical crews involved in facilitating the suspensions.
A portion of proceeds will be retained to mint future NFTs, as well supporting other artists in NFT space by collecting their work.
Technicals & Credits
These loops were created by suspending a 200lb steel cube on a swivel, with bodies suspended inside of it. All geometric elements are rigged out of white 4mm rope. All bodies are hanging from black 4mm rope, and hooks pierced into their flesh.
Rigging geometries, and structural rigging devised by Orbán Isma, and implemented/created with the help of The Midnight Wizard – Oz (@bkshibari), Margherita Tisato (@mrghyseye).
Piercing and care by Anchors Aweigh (@anchors.aweigh) team – Genne Laakso (@genne_laakso), Will T. Atkins (@will.t.atkins), Spooky Mandalay (@spookye), Margherita Tisato (@mrgheseye), and Orbán Isma (@orbism).
Video captured on a Canon 5D, with a 50mm lens, static setup.
After Effects cleanup, editing, and renders by Orban Isma
Final video is 1080 x 1080 mp4 on FND
Previews are low res 540 x 540
Lighting and photographic wizardry by the incredible Sam Waxman (@wamsaxman)
30 second audio loops created by tech wizard Erl Sanborn (@nllpntr)
Explorers suspending in the cube are all experienced suspension enthusiasts and practitioners:
01 – Indolence | Margherita Tisato (@mrghyseye)
02 – Cognizance | Genne Laakso (@genne_laakso)
03 – Comfort | Sydona Rogue (@sydonarogue)
04 – Balance | Spooky Mandalay (@spookye)
05 – Discomfort | Will T. Atkins (@will.t.atkins)
06 – Submission | Justin Whitkin (@justwhitkin)
07 – Aspiration | Courtney (@barely.hooman)
01 – Indolence
We start in the void, with a desire for transformation, defined by inaction.
Explorer is Margherita Tisato
Indolence tends to become an avoidance of activity, and can be synonymous with lethargy, but sometimes also with excessive patience. Occasionally opportunities will pass us by because we are too busy biding our time. We are unaware of our vast potential and our need to nurture a healthy and productive relationship with our higher self. The resurrection position speaks of floating in the void, as we are slowly brought back from a state of nothingness. A desire for transformation defined by inaction.
02 – Cognizance
Awareness floods the mind, as a precursor to initiating change.
Explorer is Genne Laakso
Cognizance is a stage in which awareness is an active process, wherein the mind begins to perceive things and assign context to them. In a way, it is the state of gaining and retaining knowledge. When we become cognizant of our situation in the world, we have begun the journey of making decisions about what to do in it. The position speaks of becoming more aware, an awakening, but not fully at attention just yet. A moment of thoughtfulness before we can initiate change.
03 – Comfort
Alert but comfortable, now is the time to reflect without hinderance.
Explorer is Sydona Rogue
In finding comfort, we realize we have arrived in a place of safety and security. We are alert, but not feeling rushed to do anything. Being aware of comfort alone brings its own kind of awareness of our pleasant physicality, and steady mental processes. Anxieties are distant, and stress is not a factor. It can also be a misleading space to inhabit, as it can lure one into a state of complacency. The position is a nod to conscious, painless, distress-free effort. Things are easy, and the time to reflect is now.
04 – Balance
Operating in an optimal state of stability, the idea of Zen is attainable.
Explorer is Spooky Mandalay
When experiencing a balanced state, we find a kind of equilibrium that allows us to feel elevated. Our minds are functioning at optimal levels, our emotions are free of anxiety, and there is a sureness to our decision making. Physicality is at the center of the spectrum of pain and pleasure, where everything feels “true.” This is both a very clear place to be, and an illusory state that can cause one to forget that balance can only exist preceded and followed by imbalance. The position indicates that one has found their footing, and exists in a state of stability. The idea of Zen is attainable.
05 – Discomfort
The inevitable loss of balance leads to a loss of control, and transformation.
Explorer is Will T. Atkins
When a time of discomfort inevitably arrives, one is confronted with anxieties stemming from a lack of balanced thought, unsure emotional states, and physical distress. Anxiety overrides our previously calm composure, and threatens to undermine our confidence in things. Faced with the suddenly unknown, we fall in danger of subverting our own well being, and subsequently the world around us. The position is one of chaos, that represents a loss of control – not just of our faculties, but of our grip on reality. Chaos is the ultimate transformative force.
06 – Submission
We let go to hold on; the paradox of submitting to change elevates understanding.
Explorer is Justin Whitkin
At some point, we learn to give in, and submit to the wave of chaos life presents us with. This can be a state of release, but more importantly it is a space in which to learn from our past selves. The irony of letting go of something to better understand how to hold on to that which matters most is most apparent in this state. The path to self-mastery is defined by acceptance of that which we cannot bend to our will. The position speaks of complete release, but it is difficult to tell if one is falling into the void, or being thrown up to a higher level of understanding. Elevation can be the world coming down to your level, or one’s rise to understanding of it.
07 – Aspiration
Free of our past expectations, we can manifest a better world with hope.
Explorer is Courtney Chung
Once we have shed the weights that hold us down and back, we are able to have a better-informed view of our capacities, and what we are capable of. To be able to express our desires with a full breath, and to convey that which we yearn for clearly, only works when we have learned to manage our expectations. Our past selves are our confidants that will inform us of the practicality of what is real and what is not. This position observes motion forward and up, and indicates the realization of hope. Our past experiences are pushing us towards attainable achievements.