Into the metaverse
The birth of the metaverse has forever upended our perceptions of the world as we know it.
With the right AR and VR headsets, your friends from the other side of the other side of the planet can now stand right in front of you three-dimensionally as holographic images, or you can now turn your confined darkened city dwelling into a light-flooded beachside summerhouse.
Rather than a complex technology, the metaverse is more a concept of how we interact with technology. It enables us to meld the physical and digital worlds, creating a hybrid space that is shared universally, where everyone can have access to social connections, work, entertainment, shopping and learning.
In the realms of interior design, the metaverse unlocks tremendous opportunities for flexibility and imagination. The elimination of building materials and construction constraints, for example, empowers all of us to be able to step into the role of interior designer, and let our imaginations run wild.
Interior designers are harnessing the power of the metaverse to communicate their ideas to clients in a much more engaging way. Imagine you can now invite your clients to “enter” your design concept and experience it via a digital avatar, as opposed to showing them through a presentation board on a flat screen.
The same applies to art. The metaverse allows the creations of any kind to be showcased on a virtual plot, or in a digital museum, tailored to your own liking. It provides audiences with a viewing experience that is more immersive, enveloping where one can navigate “in” the artwork, instead of just viewing it.
The industry has welcomed the idea with open arms. Art Central, one of the biggest art events this month, is one of the pioneers of art and technology, introducing to us this year an innovative curation of NFT art from around the world, displayed in both the physical world and the metaverse. Find out more on page 12.
Another NFT-oriented exhibition, “Meta Nostalgia”, in Causeway Bay throughout this month, takes a more local approach in attempts to drum up interest and curiosity in the idea of NFTs. Curator Heiman Ng shares how the technology is propelling the growth of art, and why it matters, via our inspiring talk on page 74.
If you, like me before compiling this issue, are perplexed by such groundbreaking digital concepts, this issue may help. Enjoy.元宇宙的出現，無疑顛覆了我們對這個世界的認知。只要有適當的AR和VR設備配合，身處地球另一端的朋友從此可以透過全息影像形式，活形活現地站在你面前；你亦可以將小巧昏暗的蝸居搖身一變，幻化成開揚明亮的海濱度假別墅。
元宇宙一詞看似複雜，但其實它指的並非一項複雜科技，而是一種我們如何與科技互動的嶄新概念。元宇宙把物理世界和數字世界連成一線，構建出一個共享的混合空間，所有人都可以進入，在這個虛擬世界交朋結友、工作、娛樂、購物或學習。
在室內設計的領域，元宇宙開拓出無限的想像空間及靈活性。試想想，當我們不再需要以建築材料打造空間，施工限制就不復存在，所有人都可以盡情發揮想像力，實現自己的夢想家園。世界各地的室內設計師正利用元宇宙，更生動地向客戶展示其設計概念。例如你可以邀請客戶「走進」你的設計方案，讓他們在立體的數碼圖像內親身體驗你的設計構思，打破在屏幕上展示方案的限制。
同樣道理，元宇宙讓我們得以更深刻、更立體地鑒賞及體驗藝術。藝術家可以在一片虛擬土地上創作，或在虛擬博物館中展示作品。在虛擬空間內，你可以根據喜好定制出最理想的展覽空間，讓觀眾「走進」一件藝術品，身歷其境盡情探索，而非僅僅在作品前駐足欣賞。
業界普遍對這個嶄新意念表示歡迎。本月最大的藝術活動之一「Art Central」無疑是創新藝術的先驅，在今屆的展覽為我們帶來一系列來自世界各地的NFT藝術作品，在物理世界及元宇宙中向觀眾展示。在今期第12頁將為大家介紹更多重點展品，讓大家一睹NFT藝術的精彩世界。
另外，本月在銅鑼灣舉辦的沉浸式NFT電影主題體驗展《Meta Nostalgia香港那些年》以更本土及貼地的方式推廣藝術科技，希望引起大眾對NFT概念的好奇及關注。項目策展人伍常在第74頁為大家揭示數碼科技如何推動藝術的發展，以及為何創新藝術如此重要。如果你像我一樣，在編製今期月刊前對元宇宙的概念感到迷茫，也許今期的內容能夠為你撥開一點迷霧。希望你喜歡。