Nostalgia often resonates with me when I'm drawn to an artists work. In this instance, memories of a virus-infected family computer overrun with dubious Sims mods. Yet Estelle's work, derived from life-simulation games, didn't immediately evoke those recollections. Unaware of their origins, I found her artwork even more enchanting and left me wanting to discover the who, what, where, and why?!

https://opensea.io/assets/0x04c106d8c726481b0A0bb97C802B98C9dAE72BfB/4

HYPERRETINA (HR): Your work delves into nostalgia and the creation of 'personal myths' from past memories, how do you think these factors shape a player's approach and experience in life-simulation games?

ESTELLE FLORES (EF): I see this idea of personal myths not relating to the exact past, but to the stories we choose to enact and comprise ourselves within simulation games. Sometimes games don’t leave much room for different or personalized stories to happen, these games are chosen by players already interested in enacting a certain type of behaviour (GTA for example) but this is not the case with The Sims, where the first confrontation between the game and the player is, what do I want to do here?, which is an echo of the essential question of life.

I don’t think the choices we make are so frivolous. Lately, I’ve been relating these things we choose to enact in games to Schechner’s concept of Restored Behaviour, which makes sense with Johan Huizinga’s definition of play, that allows for and even invites an approximation of games with rituals. I think video games go beyond fun and relaxation when helping us to make sense of real life situations. This is something that is a given in every other form of play, yet seems challenging and new when applied to gaming. The Sims is very good at this because it can be seen as theatrical, a performance machine. Its material element of play is restored behaviour.

HR: Are there themes of nostalgia in your artwork that resonate with your personal experiences, particularly with The Sims or video games as a whole?

EF: I think game art acts as a key for a deeper world inside the person seeing the work. For each generation it's a different key, with the visuality permitted by the technology constraints of the time a person started to form their own universe of images. These visuals don’t only hit on who we are now, I think they also hit on who we were. Another thing that adds to this effect is that in movies or in performances an actor is always the other, but with game art the avatar is always me, or you, or whoever is viewing it. We’re used to the idea that the avatar, no matter what it looks like, is most of the time going to be representing you.

HR: Have you experimented with any other video games for creative purposes, or are there any you're considering exploring in the future?

EF: I consider doing this in the future but for now I’m focused on The Sims 4, I certainly plan to experiment with The Sims 1, 2, and 3 one day.

https://opensea.io/assets/0x04c106d8c726481b0A0bb97C802B98C9dAE72BfB/2

HR: I’m curious to know how involved you are with the Sims 4 gameplay when you create your work, are you simultaneously playing the game, or do you view the game as more of an artistic medium? Perhaps it's a mix of both?

EF: I almost never open the game with the intention of playing, not because I don't want to, but because I have turned this into my work. Most of the time I open the game because I have to work and I usually have plans on how to do it. But I would say, most of the time I end up abandoning my plans within the first 10 minutes, something captures my attention and without realizing I start to play. That’s how I find the most interesting tension points I present in my work. The game has strong weapons of seduction which have proved beneficial to me. I try to manipulate the process but I’m the one to get manipulated by it every time.

HR: In your collection, ‘Contain Real Ingredients’, you’ve discovered your own virtual canvas with in-game objects. When creating in The Sims 4, have there been any other gameplay elements you have distorted to use as an artistic tool?

EF: That’s an interesting question, in many ways yes but I guess in the same significant way, no. I think the character development might have hints of that, by now in my game everybody in the cities has pink hair and even the babies are born that way! I think the biggest artistic tool of this game is how naked it really is of ‘life simulation’ if you don’t put your own input into it.

HR: The game art you create The Sims 4 frequently features natural elements such as lush greenery and blossoming flowers. Where do you draw inspiration from when creating these worlds?

EF: I think a good amount of my personal fantasy, the behaviours I choose to restore, has to do with nature; that’s why it appears so much in my game art work. I think game art has an element of self-representation embedded in it, all game art is actually self portraiture as play has so much to do with the player, especially when it's make-believe. Putting something like play inside the artistic process doesn't come without reverberations in the final works.

I treat my separation from nature with these connections to simulated nature. But a lot comes into this play, as simulated nature can generate real anger and real bitterness through its unnatural state. Yet in its allegorical state (the same state that sometimes inspires anger), where structures are reduced to fit into a representation, it’s also easy to achieve the state of bliss one envisions when you dream of nature. For example, Tortosa beaches in The Sims 4 always deliver a great sunset. Other in-game beaches have more of an English feel, where maybe you can take a melancholic stroll on a gray day. The same can be achieved AFK to some extent but the truth is that nature will most of the time present you with unpredictability. Other games that are more focused on this aspect of the simulation can present more constant unpredictability, but The Sims really delivers controlled nature, that beautiful backdrop state that is desirable to most people. That resort type of nature. I think this is what frustrates me but also hooks me with something that helps me deal with how my life is. From one point of view, I know we are always going to need mechanics that alleviate some of our contradictions. But from another point of view, I wonder if this keeps me from taking actions towards what I really want. I think this resonates with a big question in video games, how much do we escape from life in them versus how much do we use them to bear and deal with real life situations. To engage with that element of the impossible is somewhat necessary, but also, some things are possible, we just choose to keep them in games.

HR: I would also love to know more about your generative art, such as ‘Book of Fortune’ you collaborated on with Goma Rabica! Could you delve deeper into that project and share your experience of collaborating with another artist?

EF: This project is really special to me because it was a first creative collaboration with my boyfriend, he is a collagist and we merged many of our shared interests, which manages to capture both of our aesthetics. Collabs are tricky, sometimes they are 2x as easy or sometimes 2x as hard as an individual project, in this case it was super easy and intuitive. I made the code and textual work and Samuel provided the images.

About my generative work overall, I honestly don’t know where I stand with it right now. I really loved learning how to code and I am happy that I now know the basics, but also there are parts of this practice that are not that full of pleasure for me. ‘Book of Fortune’ was a great example of a fun coding project, same with ‘Real Life Dance Challenge’. This could be because these projects are super simple and never ate my head with bugs, they are a lot more about their ideas. But also, it could be that I’m really bothered by the fact that this realm of the 'market' is not over technique yet. It’s like we are still measuring dicks to see who paints better. I could not care less for this type of stuff, that’s a great part of why I choose to work with The Sims, I prefer to push the ideas to the front by not letting it be bothered by subjects of technique and skill mastery.

HR: Given the emphasis on the significance of playful experimentation throughout our life journeys, in what ways has engaging in a virtual environment influenced your practice?

EF: This practice started during the pandemic times, gaming was all I had and I think the amount of emotion I was putting into it was not very kosher haha! I never had a time in my life where I could identify myself as a gamer. When I was a kid my family didn’t have money for a console and I'd play at my cousins house, later on with boyfriends. I also played a bit of The Sims during college when I had a computer and would rent games from a store in the neighborhood. After installed on the computer the games would run for a few months without asking for the CD, and when it didn’t I'd have to rent the CD again. Games have always been in this auspicious place in my mind, something I have thought of doing more than done it.

Right now, conceptually, my practice is very influenced by the ideas I’ve been developing around simulation gaming ever since I started experimenting artistically with The Sims. Before this I’d enact a certain scene, could be very a fucked up scene, but I’d dismiss the possible meanings behind it as it seemed too hard to untangle. Also, the word 'play' is something very, very misleading, it is sometimes the opposite of something serious, but also, play doesn’t work if there is not a certain degree of commitment, so it’s a mix that leads us to think that play is just play, to dismiss what play actually means. The question of why I feel the need to enact this is sometimes a very hard question to answer. Not that I’m working to actually answer those questions, but this aspect of play really motivates my work, the fact that there are a bunch of things going on under the surface of something apparently very naive.

_________________

ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴇꜱᴛᴇʟʟᴇ

Estelle Flores is a Brazilian contemporary artist exploring video game art since early 2021, which was spent mostly in the collection of works Contain Real Ingredients, a practice of painting inside the game The Sims 4. Now, this exploration of ‘play’ continues in the fields of AI, generative art and code in a research on the personal myths and emotional shortcuts we raise from nostalgia. Explore Estelle’s work on Objkt, fxhash and Zora, as well as socials Twitter and Instagram.

ᴡʜᴏ ɪꜱ ʜʏᴘᴇʀʀᴇᴛɪɴᴀ

HYPERRETINA stands as an evolving nexus of post-internet and digital art, rooted firmly within the expansive Web3 ecosystem. With the mission to amplify the artists and creators that are sculpting our new virtual landscape. Don’t hesitate to get in touch on Twitter, Warpcast or Instagram. See the growing HYPERRETINA collection on Objkt, here.

HYPERRETINA (HR): Have there been instances where elements from a dream world have seeped into your waking reality in unexpected ways, and vice versa?

GABRIEL KÖI (GK): I have accepted myself as a filter for the dream world(s) into this plane we share, which we can call Awakened Reality. I understand that I have a mission to interpret and filter this dream world (personal or rhizomatic-collective) and through my artistic (not ambitiously: but ritualistic) process, bring it into this shared reality. By staying true to this path, I have encountered other Dreamers-Explorers Inter-Planes, dissolving the fear imposed upon us as a form of wakefulness. Continuing on this path of fidelity and also strengthening the body and mind of this Avatar I inhabit, the boundaries between these planes, the real and the dream, have started to blend and present themselves intertwined, at times we can call it Just One.

So, yes, when I choose and allow (after this process of strengthening the Avatar), these layers between the Dream World and the Awakened Reality merge, and unexpectedly, they become a new learning experience. Through my filtering, a piece is materialised. It is a very intense process of understanding that the materialised piece does serve as a connection between these planes. When I exhibited my work on huge LED panels in global cities , I grasped this concept. The Dream World Affects the Awakened Reality, which I call the PLANE OF WILL.

nft://1/0x907e2ea28394B337018c88994562520c57840B8E/?showBuying=true&showMeta=true

HR: As someone who has exhibited their work in such culturally diverse cities as São Paulo, New York, Berlin, London and Bogotá, has exhibiting in such environments influenced how you experience and wish to exhibit your art in the future?

GK: Note that I have already exhibited my work in places closer to global centres of power and places more distant from them. I am a Brazilian Multidisciplinary Digital Artist. I know I am Brazilian. Due to all the sabotage present here and the difficulty of TO MAKE (especially in the realm of digital art), the Brazilian experience greatly influences my creation, particularly in my dream-like process. Brazil is a vast Crystal-Enigma, and the deeper you dig into this crystal, the more you see blood and magic. Without the Brazilian experience, my work would be a deep hole filled with empty words and hollow concepts.

In the future, I desire to be physically present in those places closer to global centres of power, to have firsthand experience. My work has already visited, but now my Avatar must visit. I am seeking the maximum potential that this Avatar of mine allows. This is what I want for the future. Access. Open paths. A dignified life.

HR: You’ve described yourself as a multi-chain artist, what factors do you consider when choosing which blockchain to mint NFTs on? Are there specific audiences or communities you are targeting on each platform?

GK: I began minting my digital artwork on the ETH blockchain in 2021, during the cultural and media boom that occurred. A few months after I joined, the HIC ET NUNC platform was launched on Tezos. It was a milestone. It was a true movement.

This platform provided access to many artists, especially artists from the Global South, who often couldn't compete with the exposure that artists from the Global North have, and therefore had to migrate from their homelands to seek those opportunities.

HIC ET NUNC brought dignity to many artists, and I reconnected with pre-NFT artists and met new artists in this movement. It was a beautiful experience to live through. I produced many pieces and found a frequency that brought dignity and honesty to my process as a digital artist from the Global South. I built sincere connections with artists and collectors from all over the world.

After the end of HIC ET NUNC, and with the depressing devaluation of Tezos, I find myself exploring my artwork once again on the ETH blockchain, which, in my opinion, has evolved its technology significantly and capitalised well on the culture and investment behind this currency. I am exploring Manifold and the Zora platform extensively.

HR: I ♡ your description of a ‘creative state is a haven in the midst of chaos’ — I’m interested to know if your journey from idea to final artwork embraces this chaos or if you have a creative process you like to follow, especially as you work with a diverse range of tools?

GK: It truly depends on the type of process I am going through. Certainly, all creations begin as an epiphany when I am cataloging the idea, and that epiphany can last throughout the entire process. However, if it's a project leaning towards ‘experimental cinema’ and ‘post-cinema’ then the chaos must be more controlled, more guided, within my creative system.

As I mentioned, most of my ideas come from the dream realm or manifestations of these dream frequencies in waking life. I then nurture these ideas to bring them here as faithfully as possible. In this process, I create scripts, storyboards, seek collaborations, and think about the soundtrack - in short, the epiphany becomes more controlled until the point where the piece feels ready to be born, and the time for birth approaches.

When the piece decides to be born, I see that the essence is already contained within it, and thus, it will have a life of its own. This is my work.

HR: I’ve come to realise the resonance I have with your work is because it echoes worlds I’ve explored through PS2 games like Shadow of the Colossus and Half-Life. I wonder if any forms of media or pop culture, such as video games, have shaped and influenced your work?

GK: Absolutely. I know that nothing is created from scratch, and everything can inspire my work. Anime and games have always been a significant influence on my artistic being. I have always been immersed in gaming culture and PC culture, a cybernetic culture. I grew up with this mix of cultures, along with the experiences I had in the streets of São Paulo, my city. Manga series like Berserk, Homunculus, Evangelion, and Serial Experiments Lain, as well as MMORPGs, have been major influences. I admire how these works manage to delve into hidden themes and ancient cultures while being accessible forms of entertainment, without diluting their core meanings. Sometimes, you can indirectly study the I-Ching while reading a manga, you know? That fascinates me.

In addition to the mentioned media, sports also significantly influence me. I love the true basketball culture and the media culture of Kung Fu, like the films from the Shaw Brothers Studios of the 1960s. These two sports have helped me escape from many problems in life.

HR: Your artworks embody such a powerful visual language. Does this serve as a reflection of your perception of the physical world or perhaps even how you recollect dreams?

GK: Absolutely. I keep digging into the ‘visual’ until I get as close as possible to what I felt I saw in the dream realm, or in some dream-like manifestation in waking life. It's all about textures and sensations, and my main goal is to get as close as I can to what I experienced. There comes a point in this process where it feels like a switch flips, and I feel tuned into that exact sensation I had in my dreams. It's a lot of fun. It’s a cure.

HR: Can you speak more on your visual experiences lab, The Experimental Lobby and your musical entity NAGUAL555?

GK: I feel that my work as GABRIEL <KÖI> already has a well-established identity and narrative. Everyone expects a piece from GABRIEL <KÖI> to be something "post-cinema," dreamlike, 3D, or experimental cinema. But I do more than that. I create things different from GABRIEL <KÖI>, and I can't stop myself from doing so. Hence, my alternative project THE EXPERIMENTAL LOBBY was born, focused on generative art and AI. It's a place where I can deposit these creations in a more unpretentious' manner. This project is like my Game Boy - a space for playful exploration.

NAGUAL555 is not a musician, DJ, or anything of that sort. It's a sonic entity that presents itself to me. Typically, NAGUAL555 is the one composing the soundtracks for my pieces. I have always treated NAGUAL555 as a visitor to me, and it is they who create the music while I end up yielding to their songs. It's a unique and symbiotic relationship where I allow NAGUAL555 to guide the musical aspect of my creations.

_________________

ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ɢᴀʙʀɪᴇʟ

Gabriel Böing, also known as "KÖI", is a artist from São Paulo, Brazil. He believes that artists act as filters, interpreting their surroundings in both a macro and micro sense. KÖI is surrounded by like-minded individuals who share his belief that the creative state is a haven in the midst of chaos. Explore his expansive works on Objkt, Zora, Foundation and KnownOrigin. His musical entity NAGUAL555 can be found on Spotify and Bandcamp.

ᴡʜᴏ ɪꜱ ʜʏᴘᴇʀʀᴇᴛɪɴᴀ

HYPERRETINA stands as an evolving nexus of post-internet and digital art, rooted firmly within the expansive Web3 ecosystem. With the mission to amplify the artists and creators that are sculpting our new virtual landscape. Don’t hesitate to get in touch on Twitter, Warpcast or Instagram. See the growing HYPERRETINA collection on Objkt, here.