
- We are evolving -
......
YUIKO RÁYKA
Y
SOUL GEMS META
NOV 17 Thu -21 Mon, 2022
Gallery G-77, Kyoto
One of YUKIO RÁYKA's series of works is called "Soul Gems" (2015-currently ). This series focuses on the relationship between our soul beings and the universe. Each of our souls is the universe itself, resonating with each other, existing in harmony within this great universe.
In the past, the artist has developed this series of works as the physical installation, but in this project, "SOUL GEMS META," she will newly express this worldview using the Metaverse, VR, and NFTs.
The artist develops similarities in the relationship between the structures "soul and us humans" and the "core of the work and the medium of expression" and attempts to present them from the perspective of "evolution" through this work.

STATEMENT
In this exhibition, visitors will experience the "World of Souls" created in the metaverse (virtual world) through VR.
The definition and interpretation of the "World of Souls" differs depending on country, region, religion, and era, but my interpretation based on my own experience is that the World of Souls is an interdimensional world that exists parallel to our physical dimension. The souls which exist in that world, are the cores of us humans. Our souls evolve and grow by having experiences as human beings on Earth, that is, the physical dimension (or as other beings in other dimensional worlds).
The Corona disaster has brought us many changes. In terms of exhibiting artworks, there are more opportunities and demands for exhibitions in virtual galleries and metaverses, and now that the peak of the disaster has passed, people are considering having virtual exhibitions more than before. I interpret this phenomenon as the fact that we can now choose "dimension" not only as a place to exhibit our works, but also as an element to construct the concept of our works, or as a means of output, i.e., technique, material, or media.
In my "Soul Gems" series, I have been expressing the concept of the "World of Souls," a world of different dimensions, by putting it into the physical dimension. This time, however, by using the Metaverse as the output dimension, it is possible to express a different aspect from the expression by physical method. It means, for example, that the "soul world" always exists in another dimension parallel to the physical dimension. That we can meet in the "soul world" beyond time and distance. In addition, the elements that make up the "World of Souls" are numerous souls, and this time they are output as digital elements "SOUL GEMS". By releasing them into the blockchain world as NFTs, I will attempt to approach the expression of the story of souls, such as the connection between souls, history, and evolution. By expanding the non-physical realm multi-dimensionally, the range of expression will also expand.
Alongside the Corona Disaster, Metaverse, VR, and NFT have developed rapidly in recent years and will continue to accelerate in the future. Three years from now, the concept of media itself may have changed. Therefore, what I am looking forward to is how I will update this work at that time. It may be an update on the same media, or it may be a transfer to a different technology (in fact, this work has already been transferred from the physical method to current method). Even if the expression changes, the core of the "Soul Gems" series is the universal concept of "souls". If a concept is nurtured through output, it is like the growth and evolution of the soul, and the renewal of expressive media is the transformation that embodies this concept. We human beings, too, have changed our bodies many times over the years, with our souls as the core, and are here now. This gives me sense the future of the work and art. I present that artworks are no longer limited by media, and can be changed in lightly with the changing times. My "Soul Gems" series will engrave many different ways of expression in its history.
Ideally, even after I leave this world and return to the world of the soul, it will be passed on to someone else over the ages.
Artworks evolve, by riding the waves of change. As we humans and our souls do.