“The exploration and discovery aspect is my own ‘version’. One which is very nuanced and ’ self-created’ so give me the feeling of seeing something for the first time, under the cloak of night, or the light of my drone. And like all my work in general, my goal is to show familiar things in an unfamiliar way, because it is this which really forces people to look a bit harder and ask questions.”
“探索和发现的方面，是我自己的‘版本’。是非常微妙和“自创”的，像是我第一次看到一些东西的感觉，比如在暮色的笼罩下，或者在我的无人机的灯光下。和我所有的作品一样，我的目标是以陌生的方式展示熟悉的事物，因为正是这种方式真正迫使人们更加努力地寻找问题并提出问题。”
– Rueben Wu
About the artist
关于艺术家
Rueben Wu is a Chinese artist born in Liverpool, UK, and co-founder of the British band Ladytron. Known for his minimalistic landscape photography that blends monumental imagery with illuminated geographic strokes, Rueben Wu journeys across the world’s most remote yet magnificent destinations to record the essence of nature seen through the frames of his camera lens. Wu majestically manipulates light, time, and the expansive geometry of the earth to create works that employ a deeper narrative. While Wu relies on geographic elements to amplify his works, his use of lighting is not a natural one. He illuminates parts of the landscape using drones with lights attached to them to be snapped into an image where time and space come to still silence. Wu’s works are a reflection of his exploration of unimaginable places that are real yet desolate, much like his passage to reach these places.
Reuben Wu是一位出生于英国利物浦的华裔艺术家，也是英国乐队Ladytron的联合创始人。Reuben Wu 以其极简主义的风景摄影而闻名，将不朽的意象与被照亮的地理风光融为一体，他穿越世界上最偏远但最壮丽的目的地，通过他的相机镜头记录下大自然的精髓。Wu对光线、时间、和地球上广阔的几何形状的处理使他创作出具有更深层次叙事的作品。虽然Wu依靠地理元素来着重表达他的作品，但他对光的使用并不是一种自然的方式。他使用带有灯光的无人机照亮部分景观，然后将其捕捉到时间和空间静止不动的图像中。吴的作品反映了他对难以想象的真实而荒凉的地方的探索，就像他到达这些地方的途径一样。
With a highly successful career, the artist has worked with some of the world’s top companies such as Audi, Apple, National Geographic, Google, Samsung, and more. With every iteration, Rueben redefines his craft and understanding of how digital tools can enhance his mastery of an art form. Beyond photography and music, the artist has jumped into the NFT space providing surreal experiences that can be shared and owned through his art.
凭借非常成功的职业生涯，这位艺术家曾与奥迪、苹果、国家地理、谷歌、三星等一些世界顶级公司合作。在每一次更新的作品中，Reuben 都重新定义了他的技巧，同时也定义了对数字工具是如何增强他对艺术形式的掌握的理解。除了摄影和音乐，这位艺术家还涉足 NFT 领域，提供了可以通过拥有和分享他的艺术作品的超现实体验。
Artistic Origins
艺术起源
“To me, my images are more than pictures. They are fragments of memory and imagination.”
“对我来说，我的图像不仅仅是图片。它们是记忆和想象的碎片。”
From a young age, Rueben Wu had a deep interest in art however, over time he found the process to be impractical. He would go on to become an industrial designer for a short period while creating music as a producer and DJ for his band Ladytron during his spare time. Once his musical career took off, he would quit his job to tour around the United States. In this period he would experience the monumental vistas of this journey, picking up photography to record his trip. With a prominent curiosity for camera equipment and techniques, he would develop an eye for surreal photography. The visual impact of analog cameras and the vintage feel of film was a big draw leading to his artistic development. Artists that inspired him include Frederic Edwin Church, Turner, Robert Smithson.
Reuben Wu 从小就对艺术有着浓厚的兴趣，但随着时间的推移，他渐渐发现这个过程是不切实际的。他成为了一名工业设计师，并在业余时间为他的乐队 Ladytron 创作音乐，同时担任制作人和 DJ。他的音乐事业起飞之后，他辞掉工作，去美国巡回演出。在此期间，他体验了这段人生旅程的不朽景象，于是用摄影开始记录他的旅程。凭借对相机设备和技术的强烈好奇心，他开始关注超现实主义摄影。模拟相机和老式胶片的视觉冲击力成为他后来艺术发展的主要吸引力。启发他的艺术家包括 Frederic Edwin Church、Turner、Robert Smithson。
Travel has been a key part of Wu’s artistic process, often presented with digital or technical manipulations that echo the fragments of memory and time. His creative drive is fueled by the desire to discover unknown territories that are secret visual treasures. His depiction of geographic imagery is other-worldly and at times futuristic– they are simple and familiar yet also foreign and dream-like.
旅行一直是Wu的艺术过程的关键部分，经常以数字或技术方式呈现，以呼应记忆和时间的碎片。他的创作动力来自于他想要发现作为秘密视觉宝藏的未知领域。他对地理图像的表达是超凡脱俗的，有时是未来主义的——它们简单而熟悉，陌生而梦幻。
Creation behind the lens
镜头背后的创作
“I’m trying to capture the essence of exploration, something which is very personal”
“我试图捕捉探索的本质，这是非常个人化的东西”
Much of Rueben Wu’s work involves the implementation of new technologies and devotion to experimentation. Starting with the concept of time, he would then experiment with lighting and drones in newer works. The use of drones in particular was influenced by NASA’s rover images of lunar landscapes and a fortuitous accident where headlights brightened the landscape at night. The striking ambiance of light and the abstract nature of NASA images for him was a “jarring combination of science and technology…with the aesthetic of the sublime.”
Reuben Wu 的大部分工作都涉及对新技术的实践和对实验的热爱。某个时间开始，他在较新的作品中尝试灯光和无人机。无人机的使用尤其受到美国宇航局月球车图像的影响，以及某次夜间车头灯被照亮的景色。对他来说，引人注目的光线氛围和 NASA 图像的抽象本质是“科学与技术的不和谐结合……与崇高的美学”。
Wu’s process is a tedious one in which he constructs compositions in the daytime and waits for the soft glow of night when the color of the sky is softer. Using long exposures to snap images through his camera and mastery of environmental lighting, he propels his drones above the landscape to create neon shapes. The artist summarizes this process as doing chiaroscuro painting with photography. Derived from the Italian words, “Chiaro” (light) and “Scuro” (dark), chiaroscuro is an art technique that involves the use of bold contrast of light and dark. In deeper meaning, it is the use of light to emulate volume. Leonardo da Vinci and Caravaggio are some of the prominent artists known for using this technique. After capturing the alluring wonder of nature, he compiles photos in his studio. The resulting work is something that is interwoven with the cosmic and the grandiose essence of nature.
Wu的创作过程有些许乏味，他在白天构图，等待夜晚柔和的光，天空的颜色变得温柔。通过他的相机和对环境照明的掌握，他使用长时间曝光拍摄影像，他将他的无人机飞到景观上方，创造出霓虹灯的形状。艺术家将这一过程总结为chiaroscuro（用摄影进行明暗对比）。源自意大利语单词“chiaro”（光）和“scuro”（黑暗），chiaroscuro 是一种艺术技术，涉及使用明暗对比。在更深的意义上，它是用光来模拟体积。莱昂纳多·达·芬奇（Leonardo da Vinci）和卡拉瓦乔（Caravaggio）都是以使用这种技术而闻名的著名艺术家。在捕捉到大自然迷人的奇观后，他在自己的工作室里整理照片。最终产生的作品将宇宙和宏伟的本质交织在一起。
Sharing the journey through NFTs
通过 NFT 分享旅程
While Rueben Wu was aware of NFTs, he was not convinced of their relevance to his body of work. It was not until he came across the works of GMUNK and Victor Mosquera that he realized his works were a perfect fit for the NFT space. After meeting with Nifty Gateway, he would create his first collection of NFTs. Taking his past experiences, he planned a journey from Chicago to Las Vegas, recording his personal journey while simultaneously working on commissions. For the artist, these works are highly personal to himself and his artistic journey. Now he is traveling around the world continuing his exploration and constantly experimenting with other mediums, whether it is music, photography, or drawing, he hopes to create something that he had not envisioned before.
虽然 Reuben Wu 了解 NFT，但他开始并不相信 NFT 会与他的作品相关。直到他遇到 GMUNK 和 Victor Mosquera 的作品，他才意识到 NFT 领域会非常适合。在与 Nifty Gateway 会面后，他创建了他的第一个 NFT 合集。带着过去的经历，他计划了一次从芝加哥到拉斯维加斯的旅行，记录了他的个人旅程，同时也是带着酬劳的。对艺术家来说，这些作品对他本人和他的艺术之旅来说都是高度个人化的。现在他环游世界，继续探索，不断尝试其他媒介，无论是音乐、摄影还是绘画，他希望创造出他以前没有想到的东西。
“When people see my work, you’re seeing me. You’re seeing all the experiences that I’ve had in the past. All of those make sense in the art that I make. I don’t see this as the endpoint. I definitely see it as a very, very important moment in my creative arc. I’m still going to keep exploring and keep experimenting with different mediums, who knows what else I’m going to be doing next. It might not even be photography. It is definitely going to be something that is a combination of different things to create something new.”
“当人们看到我的作品时，你们就是在看到我。你看到了我过去的所有经历。所有这些在我创作的艺术中都是有意义的。我不认为这是终点。我绝对地认为这是我创作经历中非常非常重要的时刻。我仍然会继续探索和尝试不同的媒介，谁知道我接下来还会做什么。它甚至可能不是摄影。它肯定会是不同事物的组合，以创造新事物。”
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Translation 翻译 Rona Xia
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