#SamMadhu : The Message (India/Berlin)

We have understood, dear readers, that we are at the beginning of a new evolution that the promises of the Metaverse and other digital worlds boast to keep. A cyber-punk world where technology and man are one, where big corporations control our thoughts and our choices, where cities are emptied of their substances and dreams are printed according to the trends...

Pure madness? No, because if this 20 years ago looked like a tragic future, today it looks like a current event, a simple contemporary issue. If you compare the cyber-punk prophecies to what we are living together today, the future doesn't seem to be a promise but a simple window through which you can now look.

These big cyber punk corporations that we could call now GAFAM have at heart to take control of our body, only marketing tool that still resists to the invader! Because if some people have an iPhone, everyone has a body.

So what are we going to do with it? More than ever, our body will occupy a central place in technology and vice versa, redefining our appropriation of it. Will it become an extension of our phone with paid updates? Will it be a simple body envelope represented only virtually?

These questions fascinate me because I don't have the means to answer them. Not being able to submit myself to this only conclusion, fortunately that artists also ask it. If the role of the artist is to represent the society in which he lives, it is obvious that the future of art is digital, trans-humanist and cyber-punk.

It's why I'm so glad to introduce you to the brilliant Indian artist Sam Madhu for her first interview on a French Media !

Sam Madhu for Radio Loubard

Hi Sam! Such a pleasure to e-host you as the first Indian friend on Radio Loubard ! Because I think that in the times we are all living, our priority must be to take care of each other. My first question will be simple : How are you doing ?

Doing great

Simple journalistic formality but nevertheless useful for our very dear reader of the day, could you please introduce yourself ?

My name is Sam Madhu. I’m a Berlin-based digital artist, originally from India. I work with 3D art, audiovisuals, animation, immersive installations and now also NFTs. I’m interested in visions of the future.

How did you get into graphic design (and other arts that you master) ?

I’ve always been creating stuff online since I was a little kid. Spending time on digital art portals, becoming friends with people all over the world online. I’ve always taught myself digital programs and eventually that just became a career in digital art.

I’ve really loved your story, from your childhood in India to New York to finally Berlin with so many adventures and projects lived and launched… Could you tell us a bit about this long journey ?

Well I was born and raised in India and then moved to New York to study design when I was 17. I spent 4 years studying and 2 years working as an art director for Adidas. After that my work went viral back in India, so I moved back. I was a full time artist there for 2 years, living in Bombay - working on installations, raves, music videos, all kinds of things. Then Corona happened and I felt something telling me to go to Berlin. That’s how I ended up here.

Anime and manga have always been keen to integrate different forms of transhumanism, biomimicry and genetic or technological modifications in general, is that what partly guided you towards this subject of study?

I grew up watching Ghost In The Shell. So this really influenced my vision of the future, and I think it influenced a lot of people in my generation. The idea of post-humanism is very interesting.

What I found interesting in your work is this hyperrealist art in a hyper hypothetico-world.

What are you trying to express with this paradox ?

I’m just inspired by a lot of things I see. In real life, on Instagram, in fashion magazines, in films. So whatever I make is my own reflection of existing in this world.

What is the future of beauty ?

I think the future of beauty is very abstract, very chrome, very biological. It’s so flexible, it could be anything. I’m interested in post human skin. A woman with frogskin, or maybe scales like a fish. Floating face piercings, Instagram face filters that never go away because we are always wearing digital contact lens. The future of beauty is terrifying and amazing.

Most of the faces that you’re showing have dark/indian/arabic skins and that’s something that we rarely see in modern art. Why was it important for you to represent these faces into your art ?

Yes, I don’t see many people who look like me in the spaces in which I like to exist. I also feel the best art is the truest representation of yourself, that’s why my work looks the way it does.

You did some collaboration with musicians or DJ like our nice friend here Hyperaktivist <3 ! What did this collaboration bring to your work ? Will other collaborations come up ?

We collaborated on an audiovisual project for Nxt Museum and Amsterdam Dance Event, along with Lyzza. Basically they played DJ sets and I created a digital world that surrounded the ravers.

If you have any advices for young artist that decided to live from that ?

Do the work that makes you happy and don’t forget to enjoy life.

How do you see yourself in 3 years ?

In the next 3 years — I see myself as very stable, very confident and very strong.

What are now the next steps for you ?

Now the next steps are to finish some really exciting client projects in currently involved in, and then to take some time off and enjoy summer. :)