HERMES OG
Hermes is a messenger in Greek mythology, moving easily between worlds on his winged sandals.
In an *ahem* ‘fever dream’ more than a decade ago, the artist saw a clear vision which in no uncertain terms dictated that they should be a messenger between the worlds, not living fully here, not fully entering there. And so it has been, a walker between the worlds, communicating the message of the possibility of divine moments of truth through art. For this reason, Hermes has a close association with the artist.
This is also sometimes referred to as the ‘OG face opener’, because it was the first time the artist used the face opening technique in an artwork (some time in 2017), being inspired by a Japanese wooden sculpture in which Amitahba emerges from a Jizo statue. Along with an artwork which featured emoji and acanthus decorative forms, this piece helped determine a creative style for the artist, looking towards antiquity and the Baroque to revisit aesthetics using new tools. Although this is not the first piece to be brought to the NFT space, it is equivalent to the Genesis of this style.
This 2021 revisiting of the work brings the render quality to the standard standards expected from Mueo.
This piece’s style fits within Stuart Ward (Mueo)’s NeoBaroque series of artworks. The series, including still imagery, 3D printing, and animated works, is a reinvestigation of the forms that created the decorative elements of Baroque sculpture, furniture, and architecture, using digital processes to progress the style further in innovative ways than was possible when it was originally developed and practiced.
The artwork is a 1500×1500 x 20 second seamlessly looping video.