BEHIND THE NOISE | VASILY | HYBRID ART | UNDETERMINISTIC CONSCIOUSNESS

Vasily Betin

My name is Vasily. Yes, this is also my nickname.

Symbiosis with entropy and uncertainty to create.

As an artist deeply entrenched in the concept of entropy, I serve as the New Media Director of Sokaris Studio, an educator. My fascination lies in the realm of self-organized systems: from the natural environment to the societal structure, the Technium, our physical selves, or any multifaceted entity – essentially, everything that makes up our world.

My journey, though it may seem concise, spans a broad range of experiences and disciplines. With a firm foundation in mathematics and computer science, an advanced degree in cinema studies, and having dived headfirst into full-time roles as a photographer, developer, designer, and new media artist, I've been fortunate to:

Get my work published in fashion and art magazines, exhibited at fashion weeks, and various international awards as a photographer.
Create video content and interactive installations for prestigious brands such as Nike, Swatch, Adidas, Lincoln, and many more.
Showcase my art at events like the Shanghai Art Fair, Dubai 2022, and other international art festivals.
Construct permanent installations for both commercial and public spaces, including malls, restaurants, bars, cities, and forests.
Design and develop intricate media systems for entertainment spaces.
Educate the next generation of artists at the Technoetic Arts department at Shanghai DeTao Academy, as well as globally through my video tutorial series.

While I enjoy working on large-scale installations for clients, I also dedicate my personal time to understanding simple machines and conceptual projects. This constant thirst for thinking and experimenting, combined with my varied experience, allows me to perceive objects and events from numerous perspectives and unearth hidden correlations.

I am a firm believer in a brighter future, fully aware that it requires our unwavering commitment and effort. In a world where each individual possesses unique talents and opportunities, it is imperative to harness these for the collective good.

My faith is in evolution, not necessarily in our physical form but in our minds. Augmenting our understanding through knowledge acquisition is the quickest and most effective way forward. We do not require physical modifications or sensory enhancements - our minds have significant untapped potential. The key to expanding my experiences lies in gaining new knowledge and heightening attention. This can open up fresh perspectives and highlight hidden relationships.

In a world inhabited by over 7 billion people (from a human-centric viewpoint), every perspective holds validity. I am hesitant to assert the existence of a single truth, particularly when considering complex systems like economics or politics or interpreting global events. All perspectives deserve to be voiced and critically examined. Some may carry more weight due to their logical coherence and the available information, underlining that we exist in a realm of probabilities.

I perceive the world as an infinite forest of evolution, where varying trajectories of life, ideas, technology, information, and complexity intersect and merge in the present moment. Each evolutionary branch extends in different directions, with more branches unfolding the further we trace back.

I live in a world imbued with agency and causality, where everything plays an active role and incites effect. I envision a world open to experience, curiosity, and the pursuit of knowledge. A world where human and non-human agents are considered equals. A flexible world capable of adaptation and survival, unlike our current world laden with inflexible and decaying institutions. A world where we trust ourselves and others, where we allow the forces of entropy and complexity to shape a new order.

Education

Master's degree in art. “Drama, Film and television studies”. Chongqing University. Meishi academy
Computer science. Komsomolsk-on-Amur State Technical University, Russia.

Major group show

2011 "Black and White Portrait", Khabarovsk, Russia (photography)
2013 The 24th China Photography Exhibition (photography)
2015 “Aging Dragons,” Seul, South Korea (photography)
2016 “Unofficial realms. Vol1”, Shanghai, China (cinematography)
2016 "Fantasy: Flat design and digital art,“ LP ArtSpace, Chongqing, China. (interactive installation)
2017 “Urban Phobias,” Sculpture museum, “Red Town”, Shanghai, China (interactive installation)
2017 “Life.Death.Transition”, Tongji University Museum, Shanghai, China. (interactive environment)
2017 “Hashtag” future art festival, Art Center, Chongqing, China (light installations, experimental video, generative video, interactive environment)
2018 Second Chinese Visual Art Biennial, GuanYao (generative painting, generative video)
2019 Wuhan Liang You Redtown International Art Season, 2019 (photography)
2019 “Lu Garden” exhibition at the Modern Art Museum of Shanghai. “Transit” (immersive interactive environment) Collaboration with Shu.
2020 “Under the Rock” group exhibition, MUSE&uM Shanghai, (Polaroid series)
2020 "Hyperscreen" Virtual Media Art Festival (live coding performance)
2020 "Path to enchanting seclusion," Shanghai Xinqiao art museum (interactive installation, video 1, video 2)
2020 NuerlPS conference, aiartonline.com selection of artworks produced with the use of AI
2021 Antonyms ActOnioon, ifa gallery, Shanghai, China. (interactive AR)
2023 Bot-ess Manifesto. (AI, video, presentation), ReCharge Art Show, online.
2023 Subdimensional Parley. (Real-time video work, AI, generative images, virtual characters) Shanghai. ReCharge Art Show.

Solo shows

12.2016 “伴/Friends,” Chongqing, China (portrait photography)
2020 "OUTWARD,” double solo show, No. Name Residency, Shanghai.
2022 "Polaroids" online exhibition
2022 “Mental Imagineering” online show
2022 “Dialogue with machines,” ongoing collaboration with synthetic life.

Major collaboration show

2012 “The Passion of Joan d'Arc.” Joint Project with the designer of clothes, Elena Rudermel. Khabarovsk, Russia. (photography)
2017 “SPACE,” audio-visual performance, O Art Center, Shanghai (generative visuals, light, performance) 1, 2, 3
2018 “THEOTOMY,” multimedia performance, O Art Center, Shanghai. (set design, visual and light support, and projection mapping)
2018 “From Nothing” Audio-visual performance with L~N at JPL Museum Chengdu
2018 “Ash Whisper” at Wuzhen Theatre Festival (set design, visual design, light)
2018 “Floating Stones” performance at Duolun contemporary art museum, Shanghai (set design and light)
2019 “Voice of cohesion of urbanity” performance at Wuhan Liang You Redtown International Art Season, 2019 (generative visuals)
2019 “Pietra Grezza” audiovisual performance and sound sculpture. HOW art museum, Shanghai (set design, generative visuals)
2019 “Time of Tribes,” performance at Duolun contemporary art museum, Shanghai (set design and visual)
2019 “咱们” pop-up exhibition in Shanghai. (conceptual art, interactive installation, performance art) 1, 2, 3, 4
2019 “Materialism,” cyber-sound performance. (interactive sound installation, live performance)
2021 "Devine comedy,” AI text and visual generation (interactive, performance), Milano, Italy
2022 PAN Shanghai Residency. “Memory Drift”, Augmented reality digital exhibition.
2022 ‘Forgotten Words’, AR digital interactive experience. Square Gallery, Shanghai.
2023 ‘LID 9:16’, Performance, Youth Theatre, Shanghai (light design)

Curator:

2021 UMWELT online/offline exhibition.

Selected commissioned/commercial works:

2017 “Adidas TOS,” Guangzhou. (light installation)
2017 “Day/night” at JiangWan Stadium metro station (interactive screen)
2018 “Swatch” concept design, light design, and opening animation.
2018 “Water curtain” interactive wall at 1862 Theater, Shanghai
2018 “Renaissance” and “Klimt” interactive experience, Guangzhou, Shanghai
2018 “Shanghai Art Fair,” Faceless (AI-based alive environment)
2018 “World Artificial Intelligence Conference” in Shanghai. (Interactive light matrix)
2018 “Russel Young” exhibition at Modern Art Museum, Shanghai (interactive photo area and concept)
2018 “M1RO”, 361 product launch (interactive video and light, animation, and projection mapping)
2019 “Flow of Life,” an exhibition at M50 for DUPONT, Interactive water curtain
2019 “Frozen Time,” Interactive wall at Xian festival
2019 “Enlightenment,” Interactive, immersive theater. MWoods museum (木木美术馆), Beijing (interactive environment, light)
2020 “Color Your Smile,” Interactive installation. Shanghai, East Nanjing road for Urban Art United.
2021 Lincoln light installation, Shanghai auto show.
2021 Interactive installation for Dubai Expo
2021 "Above the time" interactive digital work for DingYi.
2022 "Below the sea, above the sky" interactive digital work for DingYi solo exhibition, TAG museum, Qingdao.
2022 “Extinction,” AI-generated images, installation for Audi ‘House of Progress’, Shanghai
2023 “Kinectic wall” installation for Bentley at Shanghai Auto Show 2023.

Awards and Grants

2002 A silver medalist in the international exhibition of children's art in Japan
2013 “Leica Oscar Barnak Award” short-list. International documentary photography award.
2014 The Best of Russia, finalist of “best Russian documentary photographer.”
2018 “Excellence Award” from “Life Geek” new media competition for interactive work “Playing with light.”
2020 "Future Mars Life" Design Competition, Winner in "Public Art and Installation."