Today I'm thrilled to share this in depth conversation with Reuben Wu, a multidisciplinary artist with a deeply technical skill set, which he uses to create beautifully ephemeral compositions in stunning natural environments. Reuben has a drop on April 26th on Nifty Gateway, be sure to follow him on Twitter to keep up to date with the release. Let's dive right.

To begin, can you introduce yourself to our readers? Your name, where you are based, and the mediums you work in?

My name is Reuben Wu. I’m an artist working in the field of photography but I also have a career background in music and industrial design. I live in Chicago (originally from Liverpool UK) but work always takes me everywhere else. :)

Wonderful. I've been eager to talk to you for a while now, I'm glad we finally get to connect about your work because I have a lot of thoughts.

Likewise!

The first thing that comes to mind is this- it's quite rare that an artist comes along and takes an approach that is deeply unique. You've mixed photography and technology in a way that is distinctly you- immediately recognizable as your own, always pushing the boundaries, mixing old techniques with fresh ideas. I guess I'm wondering how you arrived at this style, what inputs have contributed to your outputs, and where you first began your creative journey itself.

Big question! This is basically what got me into photography as a medium. What got me hooked is still a huge factor in driving me forward.

I began to use a camera as a replacement to drawing. Drawing was my big thing as a kid but when I joined my band and started to tour the world, I had no time to do that anymore. So it began as a way to document my surroundings.

Slowly the travel and touring inspired me to get more creative and invest more time into photography through old film cameras and less conventional techniques. Being a designer I was obsessed with these old machines which were quirky and my knowledge allowed me to understand how they worked.

And so travel and photography merged into one single passion. And this idea of experimentation and hacking technology stayed with me once I eventually moved to digital cameras. I realize that I was too emotionally attached to film (the medium) and not mindful enough of the end picture (the message).

So now I see my photography as like a craft. A tool to create imagery born through unconventional techniques. So I wouldn’t be doing this if I hadn’t done the band stuff, or the design stuff. Its been a very interesting path.

Beautifully said. That's so interesting. It's clear to me you are a multihyphenate creative. So allow me to zoom out a bit here and ask about creativity in general. If you trace back your memories, what were your first exposures to the idea of creative work, and what were some of the inspirations along the way that helped to shape your aesthetic as a visual artist?

I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. I was pretty good at it, and was interested in science fiction, the supernatural, optical illusions, and pouring through the pages of NatGeo. I think the combination of the supernatural, sci-fi films and NatGeo landscapes formed something in my mind very early on.

My parents would take us to national parks in the UK and this also had a huge influence on my childhood. I always felt like an outsider (and still do, because I was a Chinese kid in a white population who desperately wanted to fit in) and so these parks were the places I felt most free and at ease.

An early memory was of the film Close Encounters of the third kind, an eerie silent searchlight hovering in the night sky. I think that stayed with me. Space travel too.

The landscapes in NatGeo were nothing like the landscapes in the UK. They became a figment of my imagination for a long time.

Love it. I feel like you're in a really cool spot with your techniques and your craft, because when you incorporate technology into your process, as the technology evolves you have the opportunity to evolve your ideas and push them even further.

Your recent work is astounding- how have the advances in technology of cameras and drones specifically shaped what you are now able to accomplish?

The new series is different from the others in a few ways.

It’s a marriage between the series where I use the drone to light the landscape, and the motion pieces I’ve been experimenting with. So it has more narrative and coherence than the previous NFTs I’ve released (which have all been existing work). I used the camera in three ways: stills, time lapse and live video. I combine them in a way which is fiction in narrative but is photographic in nature.

Also no drones were used for this series. I needed more control over light movement and even though drones are fun, they can be super annoying.

Narrative is an important word, especially when it comes to artwork and NFTs. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on what is happening with NFTs. You've found success in this space, and for good reason. What was your first exposure to the space, what has your experience been so far and what are your hopes for the future for artists who engage with this technology?

I think it was sometime end of last year when I first became aware of it but didn’t really see the connection to my own work until GMUNK and Victor Mosquera (both insanely talented artists) started to post about them, and encouraged me to look into it. I slowly realized that some of the works I had been creating, purely out of passion, were perfect for this space. Short episodic vignettes which loop over and over, of scenes which seem to blur the line of real and unreal.

It was around February when I was fortunate enough to get a date with Nifty Gateway and this became my deadline for creating an original collection of work specifically for the space. The new idea crystallized from what I’d done in the past, with where I wanted to take it to for the April 26 date. I began capturing the work on a long road trip from Chicago to Vegas and have been working on it while juggling other commissioned projects ever since.

During this time I released a few NFTs of my earlier work to lay the groundwork and educate myself on the space. I've been very cautious and really taking my time and learning as much as I can but have been very pleased with the progress so far.

The exciting thing about it for me is that It has sparked inspiration and new ideas and motivated me to make them real. It’s thrilling, and kind of terrifying as well. The name 'EX STASIS' speaks to that intense feeling of involvement with my art.

Click here to see the 4 pieces in 'EX STASIS'

I’ve been able to reinvent myself in some way. I think these opportunities for change are a great thing for photographers and visual artists.

Stills from 'EX STASIS”

Well said. It does feel like a new substrate that ideas can flow through in new ways, all sorts of exponential opportunities unfolding.

What can people expect from the Nifty Gateway drop? Are you able to share more about these concepts / pricing / drop structure?

Until now my NFTs have been exclusive 1/1s. This collection of four pieces was created specifically for the platform, so I am able to offer more inclusive price points for ownership. I really wanted to acknowledge the support I’ve had from this community by making available more affordable editions and a chance to collect and participate in this exciting arena.

There is going to be a range of editions within the four, but I am keeping things as simple as possible.

Awesome. Well we eagerly await the date. I'm certainly setting my alarm. I'd love to end with a question to serve the community. What advice or thoughts would you share for someone who is earlier on their own creative journey?

Keep playing and experimenting. Be open to serendipity and luck. Embrace change. Identify the one thing that consumes your passion and don’t let go of that. And don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone’s story is different.