kisos 🔑🆘

i wanted to tell you how we made the visuals for nerve-bloom i did it with Natalia Kleszczewska and Natalie Liu . Natalia Kleszczewska is a painter , she painted the creatures and the backgrounds . Natalie Liu is a computer graphics director , she shaped the digital dimension of the work . my role in it was a creative director , bringing in the singer-songwriter tradition , where emotionally precise things happen inside the structure of a song . i guided colour pallettes , textures and the environments the music happens in . to make this possible , during the process , natalia often had to paint many shapes and sizes , different textures and layers of colours . natalie then developed the visuals, designing and overseeing CGI elements , and finding ways for the digital to sit organically alongside Natalia’s world . and include my dramaturgy and creative direction. we spent 7 months talking and working together , dedicated to relish in the craft of blending hand-made visuals with digital experimentation , 3D design and commit it to physical display technology . a lot of time was spent on researching different tools and techniques to find what worked best at each stage in the song . like i’ve done before , i wanted to merge old things with tech , giving it soul & a meaning . to paint a painting is an analog craft but computer programming is craftmanship too !! and both can co-exist , .....encouraging each other to bloom even further towards a mutual world . there is a tradition in pop music for the mucisian to choose a video director . in the art world , this is called “curation” , but where we came from , it was natural that the musician would have strong opinions on what your song needed , which mood , colours , textures & storyline . today this is called “creative director” and it is something we didn’t credit ourselves with in the 90s , but i am starting to understand this better now . i don´t think of me as a visual artist . because my heart is music . everything i do comes from a sonic point of view . this is something i have called “sonic symbolism” , sound made visual , a reverse synesthesia . when you listen to a song for the first time , it is like swallowing a whale , you need to feel the whole musical sculpture in one go . the structure of a song has always been extremely important to me : what shape it is . this is part of the craft of being a singer-songwriter ........... we are tune sculpturors ....... since i am talking about the visuals for nerve bloom it is impossible to not mention the avatars in my music videos . they have replaced the storyteller with anattempt to connect to the more universal element of music , through animation, avatars , puppetry both digital and analog . for me they are marionettes in a puppet-theatre , hopefully in a similar realm as the jungian archetypes ( which we all can act out the characteristics of ...) .... i feel nerve-bloom is a natural continuation .... an animated avatar archetype singing you a song ––––– Avatars, animation and archetypes: Nerve Bloom (remix) – on display at Listasafn Íslands / National Gallery of Iceland until September 20th 2026. The production of this film was made possible with the generous support of #bottegaveneta.