Natural Warp: Psychedelic/Visionary 2D/3D 360° AR/VR CryptoArtist

Crypto Artist ‘Natural Warp’, resident of Belgium, has created a unique ‘double parcel’ gallery in Somnium Space. The grand opening – an exhibition named ‘Take me to the Moon’ – will be on June 5th. For details, go here.

Natural Warp’s art is unique. Its psychedelic and visionary expression pulls you in and keeps you spellbound.

We decided to catch up with him to learn a bit more about the person behind the art.

Welcome Natural Warp. When did you start your artistic journey/discover your artistic skills? And did you have any kind of formal training? Or are you self-taught?

I started going to art classes twice a week from the age of 9 and kept doing that until I was able to enter art school the day I turned 13. I studied the fine arts and switched to graphical design a couple of years later. After finishing high school I shifted towards the spatial arts while joining the academy and kept on exploring everything within my reach.
Apart from the classical skills I picked up in this schooling system which laid a pretty solid foundation, all digital and mixed media techniques build onto that have been self-taught.

What or who inspired you to start creating psychedelic visuals? Any artists you can name?

The initial seeding happened back in 2008 I believe. It was a scorching 42° degrees Celsius hot atmosphere in the dusty shades of an organically built auditorium and I was attending a live lecture by Android Jones at the Boom festival in Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal.

At the end of his speech Andrew announced the coming of a project called “Dreamcatcher” which was going to be an online dream journal based social platform. From that day forward every time I woke up from a vivid dream experience I rushed down to fire up my machine and made a quick colorful sketch or collage to visually support my early morning dream journal entries.

The following dream was the actual pivoting point towards my dedication to walk the psychedelic / visionary artistic path:

I still remember very clearly asking this futuristic medicine woman in her ethereal atelier which was filled with antique furniture and ancient gadgets : “What about self-healing?” She scuffed and lifted her shoulders. But the answer came to me in the form of an overwhelmingly colorful bird/human-like being – as big as myself – softly shifting into this dream dimension and gliding towards me while showing it’s indescribable magnificent multicolored plumage. The next thing that happened was the shamanic lady handing me over 4 small plastic-like transparent discs in the CMYK/RGB color scheme ( at least that is what I realized when I woke up ).

So like always I rushed down and started to create a piece with more effort then I did before to ensure I would remember this dream crystal clear and placed it in my dream journal. After that I never stopped creating and in this way pounded the rhythm on my soul.

What is it psychedelic 2D/3D/360 visuals as an artform can do/invoke that other art forms can’t?

For me personally they narrate the unspeakable,  the unthinkable,  the unimaginable, the beyond of what’s behind the veil. I have come to see there is obvious proof in the universality of symbolism in these inner experiences through-out all of time – since the dawn of life. I believe they act as a key, spoken in universal language able to reach inside and touch a person in such a way that one would use the word “magic” while trying to describe it.

Your thoughts about digital art and VR? VR in general and Somnium Space in particular?

When summing up the following: digital art, crypto art, virtual reality…for me the next thing that comes to mind is “and beyond” and beyond is exactly where I feel at home.

For me this looks like the beginning of something truly great, not only in the making of the metaverse as a community but as a collaboration in discovery of who we are and what we are capable of as human beings.

I have been quite active in creating 360° art for quite some years now. While on first sight 360° photography/art seems to relate to “VR” like 2.5D does to 3D, it has a whole other dimension to me. Very soon 360° art and 360° video will come to life in Somnium Space and on the blockchain so for me this all feels like the perfect moment of arrival.

How did you learn about Somnium Space?

It was this pandemic incident which lead to a complete shut down of the event-based sector which annulled many of my artistic endeavours worldwide. While looking for an alternative, I immediately felt attracted to start discovering the land of crypto and all related platforms since this can be done from my safe and local battle station.

How many parcels do you have in SS? Did you build the gallery/galleries yourself?

I started out building one gallery near the center with a solo exhibition and received very positive feedback on both my art and my building style, so things started rolling and soon we are opening our 3rd and 4th museum on the double parcel #4243 and #3929.

At the moment I am building on half a dozen Medium sized parcels with additional 2 XLs coming to my portfolio soon. Four museums are ready to be visited and a couple parcels will be hosting a mix of interactive art installations.

What is it you hope to achieve with the ‘Take me to the Moon’ group exhibition? Do you have more plans in Somnium Space?

The moment I entered Somnium Space I immediately envisioned a whole imperium of installations scattered throughout the land featuring the best of my 360° artworks enabling the visitors to enter these “cocoons of epiphany” and experience an otherworldly sense of being entirely.

At the moment I’m focusing on building the foundation of this project by building the art galleries, bringing artists together ready to be joining forces and creating opportunities to collaborate.

Any other things you want to share?

Yes! First of all I would like to thank all members of the Somnium Space community and all involved land owners for their ongoing support while sending them much gratitude for enabling these big positive vibes on the platform!!

Secondly I’d like to announce that there are tickets and event-posters ready waiting for your support to the Grand Opening of the “Take me to the Moon” group exhibition.

And last but not least, I’d say : “Stay turned on and tuned in !” Since we’ve only just begun!!!

Thank you Natural Warp for this interview. Welcome to Somnium Space and good luck with the grand opening and all your other initiatives and visions for the future!