A NEW ERA – WEDGWOOD IN WEB 3

Josiah Wedgwood was a trailblazer ahead of his time. An innovator with a social conscience, scientific in his approach, inventive in his marketing and philanthropic in his attitude. These principles and values are just as relevant in today’s hyperconnected world.
As Wedgwood enters Web 3, we ask – What would Josiah do?

WEDGWOOD IN WEB 3 EVENT

On 31st of May, 2023, we launched Wedgwood into Web 3 with an event at the Hintze Sculpture Gallery in the V&A Museum, South Kensington. Reflecting on the first brand experience under her direction⁠, Wedgwood Creative Director, Alice Bastin, said: “we’re taking our⁠ 260 year old heritage into Web3 to create modern ways for our⁠ consumers to collect Wedgwood and be a part of our community. Physical ceramics have certain complexities, in Web 3 we can express Wedgwood in totally new techniques and in colours which would be impossible to achieve in Jasperware.”

KRISTA KIM

Krista Kim is a contemporary artist, co-founder of 0Studio.ai, and founder of Techism (2014). She is an acclaimed creator and pioneer in the Metaverse space, whose ground breaking Mars House was showcased at museums worldwide.

Krista Kim took the art and craft of our iconic Portland Vase into Web3.

CHROMATIC REFLECTIONS

“The gradient in this artwork represents what it means to be human in the digital age. Our culture has become more fluid because of digital technology. We are becoming more fluid, more adaptable, and more resilient. The surface of the vase becomes a screen, and it behaves in ways that it couldn’t in real life. It’s symbolic of how we’re constantly adapting to new technology, and how the digital world is reshaping our reality. It’s a perfect example of how traditional art forms can be reinterpreted for the digital age.” – Krista Kim

ROGER KILIMANJARO

Digital artist Roger Kilimanjaro is a veteran of creating high end 3D loops. Based in Paris, Kilimanjaro experiments with materials and their physical interactions, his work focuses on elegant and satisfying motion.

Kilimanjaro took the art and craft of our iconic Homer Vase into Web 3.

ODYSSEY

“In creating this piece, I wanted to pay homage to the remarkable craftsmanship of Wedgwood through the ages while staying true to the central theme of the vase, the sacralisation of Homer, the legendary storyteller of the Odyssey. I propose my own reinterpretation of the vase following his endless and transformative journey through time and matter as well as the delicate balance between realism and fantasy. This work represents an exciting extension of my exploration into the surreal malleability of materials and the satisfaction derived from the elegant and repetitive motion.” – Roger Kilimanjaro

TOM FURSE

Tom Furse is a multidisciplinary artist whose recent focus has been on the emerging field of creative applications of machine learning technology. Following 15 years in music as the synthesist in The Horrors, Furse’s obsession with AI has dramatically expanded his practice over the last few years.

Furse took the art and craft of our iconic Borghese Vase into Web 3 using AI.

EKSTASIS

“Ekstasis is a reinterpretation of the Wedgwood Borghese Vase into a psychic digital object devoted to Bacchanalian rituals – festivals so intoxicating and powerful they threatened to tear at the societal structures of their times, reminding of us of the importance of stepping out of one’s everyday self in order to experience reality more fully. The exploded vase form is constructed of 55 separate elements created with a selection of machine learning image synthesis and processing systems, with each separate element carefully hand painted before being placed into the whole – not dissimilar to the construction of physical Wedgwood pieces. The background collage of films was created using an unreleased ML text2video system.” – Tom Furse

VILLAGE UNDERGROUND MURAL

Leading up to our very first Web 3 event, we commissioned the talented Global Street Art team to paint a mural that contained 4 of the brand-new Portland Vase NFTs.

A NEW WAY TO COLLECT WEDGWOOD

The process to create the 300 NFTs involved 3D scanning, modelling and coding, culminating in a generative series of artworks. Each 3D render in this series is unique, featuring its own combination of traits such as materials, colours, ornamentation and background effects. This generative process provides owners of these NFTs with a completely unique piece of Wedgwood history.

260 YEARS OF HERITAGE ENTERING WEB 3

Our Creative Director, Alice Bastin, says “we’re taking our 260 year old heritage into Web3 to create modern ways for our consumers to collect Wedgwood and be a part of our community. Physical ceramics have certain complexities, in Web3 we can express Wedgwood in totally new techniques and in colours which would be impossible to achieve in Jasperware.”