Neo Tengri
Ardak Mukanova
Artist, Graphic and Motion Designer ｜Kazakhstan/USA
OTHER PERSPECTIVE
DETAILS OF THE WORK
AWARDS 2021 FINALISTS
I’m interested in petroglyphs and ancient nomadic religion called ‘tengrism’ and the ways we can re-interpret them. Tengri — an ancient god living at the top of the mountain and representing the sky.
Based on the petroglyphs’ archaeological insights and traditional myths as well as self-speculation I wanted to create an environment unfamiliar for us. Where we can travel and try to communicate with the unknown creatures by the methods we don’t know and language we don’t speak. We also don't know what creatures are in this place, it is open to interpretation.
VR HMD is required for the ultra experience of the work. Learn how to experience it here.
CREATOR PROFILE
Ardak Mukanova
Artist, Graphic and Motion Designer ｜Kazakhstan/USA
I’m a Graphic and Motion Designer working on both physical and digital projects, natively from Kazakhstan. I do commercial client work as well as personal creative projects, especially while I’m doing my MFA at Parsons School of Design in the US. I completed both BA and MA as a Graphic Designer at St. Petersburg University in Russia. Right now I’m focusing on speculative worlds and other realities where we can imagine worlds without humans. I’m trying to create a transmedia space that is a compilation of a digital variety of mediums and physical accompaniment as well. I share my projects on Behance（https://www.behance.net/ardak_mukanova） and the process, oftentimes on Instagram（https://www.instagram.com/ardakmukanova）
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Ardak Mukanova from Kazakhstan created a VR space based on the theme of Tengri, an ancient nomadic religion based on folk shamanism in Mongolia. As an artist who specializes in creating transmedia spaces, Ardak Mukanova crafted a mysterious world order in virtual space. The ancient gods depicted in this work are deviant creatures, depicting a fantasy of this century. In addition, the story of Tengri, a monotheistic religion, creates an extremely deep sense of immersion through the VR experience with a head-mounted display, reminiscent of a ritual space like a sublime initiation.
Jury President
Naohiro Ukawa
Contemporary Artist / DOMMUNE
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Although there was no description of the borderline between the everyday and the extraordinary, which is my own point of view, the work was outstanding in its presentation of the world view with its unique design and sense of color. I look forward to the further blossoming of the talent in the future.
Jury
Mitsuo Iso
Animator, director, scriptwriter
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A beautifully warped, alien world - with a fitting soundtrack.
Jury
David OReilly
multidisciplinary artist
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A magical space that asked us to find our way through the world. Today we dont always require every answer, with sign posts for each move; this space asked us to intertwine with the imagination of the designer. The work made me long for the development of more sensory elements about VR that could include sensors on our 'headsets'. As I walked across the land I swallowed small moons and wanted to feel the 'gulp', the tase and smell to further involve me. Great design not only gives us something today but ask us all where do we go next and NEO TENGRI does that.
Jury
Zowie Broach
Head of Programme for FASHION Royal College of Art
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I chose Neo Tengri because I found it to be a very complete and creative work in all aspects. First of all, I could sense a core of creativity with a very solid religious background. It also made me feel like I wanted to experience a world beyond our everyday perceptions in a VR work. The creativity and imagination in this piece breaks our everyday perception of the real world, as if we were taken into space. The creatures I encountered in the work were also very mature and visually beautiful. With the current maturity of the technology, there are still some limitations in creating VR productions, such as model size, texture size, data volume, need to consider more computer compatibility, and how to optimize it to be playable. I think this is a well-deserved gold prize because I felt that the production of the work within this framework and the cultural core within the work is also very thick.
Jury
Lu Yang
Artist
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The way the world was created, the direction, the interactivity, the concept, it all felt highly accurate as an experience level.
It made me feel like I wanted to stay long in this experience.Jury
imma
Virtual Human
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Neo Tengri stands out due to its high quality of the concept, the visual implementation, and the interaction design. It offers an unusual and a very immersive fantasy-like world that engages the users intuitively. The users meet and interact with new organisms that are very well animated. The work addresses the unknown both conceptually and visually. The users deal with yet unfamiliar entities in a safe and poetic environment and acquaint themselves with the uncharted world. Getting to know the unfamiliar in the virtual realm encourages the familiarization with new entities in the physical world and thereby fosters mutual knowledge and understanding among humans. Neo Tengri highly contributes to that.
Jury
Tina Sauerlaender
Curator・Writer
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I liked the way it imagined a new landscape, strange species, and it was one of the only works that played well with the format of VR, changing how you look and move up, down, forward, backwards and so forth. It also had a strong visual identity and awareness of its own form.
Jury
Jakob Kudsk Steensen
Artist, Director
FEATURING WORKS
Fashion, music, film, graphic, illustration, etc.
A group of new cultural experience works created together with artists who can share the realistic feeling of the same era.
