JANUARY 30TH, 2023
5 Artists From the UNDRGRND Collection
UNDRGRND DIGS is a periodical feature showcasing artists that we dig. We sift through social media and platforms across multiple blockchains to find the best artists you need to see now. UNDRGRND believes in these artists: we don't just write about them, we buy their work too.
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I am Jack’s sense of awe. TRXK’s reoccurring character Jack lives in an exclusively CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black) world. Nostalgic for his lost toys, holding on to childlike imagination, Jack’s world is perpetually filled with anxiety-inducing speed and scenarios. Jack seems to be a vessel for his creator to process his world. We see Jack playing this role in Jack Painter, Jack’s Schedule and (quite literally) Jack’s Processing. But, all of this is merely a guess as many of the descriptions of these pieces are coded in a language yet to be transcribed and translated by a dedicated linguist.
Pixel artist Maszakap (or simply Mas) is building worlds bit by bit. One world created features Maz & Mek, a boy with what appears to be a shadow version of himself, in various pixelated, colorful scenes; some fantastical, others simple and quiet. In their other series, 1-Bit Pixel Art, we see what Mas can do with just black and white. These intricately detailed pieces have enough motion to give the viewer extended views on short loops.
Comic art with plenty of thought and heart (literally). Suttichart uses the experience of the artist to give depth to their one-panel cartoons. Suttichart critiques the consumerism machine so many of us try to avoid but cannot escape in Black Friday and pays respect to manga artists that came before them in Mangaka. Suttichart’s most emotionally vulnerable work comes from depicting the experience of the creator that lives and breathes comics, even the ugly side in The Pain.
Fakhrezy Kim’s surrealism captures dreams and the power of femininity. Featuring his subject Evangeline, we see her go through times of stress in Risau to moments of love in Akōma. These pieces share the clean, beautiful lines of anime characters while capturing something new by placing them in surreal settings. Each piece celebrates the divine power of the feminine and our connection to nature.
Elly Loe has created an entire digital trash world that is brilliant to experience from a distance. At no point would you want to be a part of this world that is a mix of bizarre mundane realism: staring into a television, throwing a holiday decoration out at the office, or the endless stream of cubicles are all inspirations for their work. While the characters have little resemblance to humans they mimic much of our behavior which makes these strange worlds very real and horrifying.
Each UNDRGRND DIGS features art purchased for the UNDRGRND Collection.
