SYD: BODYWORK and the duality of Identity

Syd and her team approached SUPERSHOP with a motivation to explore digital and virtual territories in a new way. Syd, who is known for pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a multi-hyphenate creative, found common ground with SUPERSHOP, the multi-disciplinary design studio, who explores and pushes the boundaries of creative storytelling through emerging technologies of CG, spatial design, motion and world building.

Syd’s art, creativity, and expression has always taken many forms. The opportunity of how to maximize it was identified by SUPERSHOP in the need of building an infrastructure for Syd to holistically exist in the digital space. 3D scanning and building her avatar would be the first step in giving her the tools to create without boundaries in digital spaces, the metaverse, and beyond. Hers and SUPERSHOP’s belief in the promise of the metaverse, its relationship with blockchain technology, and the expression of digital identity align completely. Releasing their first collaborative executions and explorations of this newly built creative infrastructure as an NFT, is the first of many steps at deepening their connection with the emerging culture and technology that will power creative and industry shifts for years to come. The team is excited to continue to explore the untethered potential of creative production in these new spaces.

Syd’s inaugural NFT was minted on July 19 in exclusive partnership with Verisart and SuperRare. Bidding closes around 3pm EDT July 22. Her next NFT drops on July 26, with bidding running until July 29. 

Syd x SUPERSHOP, BODYWORK – NIGHTLIGHT, NFT

In this post-digital and post-social media age, virtual and physical identities are colliding and overlapping. Who we are is no longer defined by our physical presence or presentation, but a bouquet of expression that takes both digital and physical form. Syd’s appetite to stay engaged and forward-thinking in how and why she expresses her own identity and creativity gave SUPERSHOP the foundation needed to explore how her digital identity could be pushed into new territory from digital fashion to the aesthetic of her entire world. The virtual infrastructure that SUPERSHOP is building with Syd is the playground that lets her express herself in endless new forms.

The pieces, Daylight and Nightlight, both make up a two-part exploration of the duality of identity through the dreamscapes built around Syd’s digital-self.

BODYWORK was imagined as a duo of animated still-life digital paintings. The content in each scene is populated with symbols and elements that provide a view into SYD’s world. The story of each scene was uncovered through open conversations between Syd and SUPERSHOP about life, self discovery, creativity, her music, ambition, and technology’s role in the future of creative expression.

In each piece, her avatar appears in a meditative position suspended above the scenes, styled in Syd’s trademark simplistic fashion sensibility; it was important to depict a window into her identity at a moment in time, but maintain the reality that she exists and lives beyond and outside of that snapshot. Her identity isn’t bound or stagnant.

Below Syd, at the center, is her recreated physical truck that she has built and customized in real-life. Syd is known for her love for customizing and working on her trucks and 4x4s, and SUPERSHOP felt it was critical to build the world around the foundation of a physical possession that authentically represented her. This truck is the center-point and foundation for each piece compositionally. It is the canvas on which the other creative elements are layered, entangled, and emanating from.

Syd’s inaugural NFT is certified by Verisart, an award-winning blockchain certification platform. Designed to empower artists to tell the story of their work, the digital certificates include additional images, videos and documents. For collectors, Verisart’s patent-pending Certificates of Authenticity (COA) form an integral part of collecting NFTs. They provide confidence in the identity of the artist and the verified history of the artwork.

Syd has always been creating. At 15 she taught herself how to record, engineer, and produce music; her home studio quickly becoming the hub for infamous hip-hop collective Odd Future. At 17 she taught herself to DJ and toured the world with OF, before successfully branching off to form The Internet with partner Matt Martians, releasing 5 Major Label albums (1 solo) and receiving a Grammy nomination. Syd is a singer, songwriter, band leader, musical director/arranger, video director and editor, and entrepreneur. Whether it is creating music with Beyoncé, Lil Uzi or fashion with Valentino, Pharrell; shooting for iD, GQ; charity work in her LA home or restoring her vintage trucks, Syd is constantly building, tinkering and redefining what it means to be a “multi-hyphenate” creator.

Led by David Stamatis and Tino Schaedler, SUPERSHOP is a team of cross-disciplinary designers that crafts spaces, experiences, and stories to connect physical and digital worlds.

Bidding for Syd’s NFT, BODYWORK-NIGHTLIGHT  closes at 3pm EDT on July 22.