Rynja’s Travels in the Physical and NFT Realms
Above Rynja: 01 Ethertree Stage 1: Light (Copyright © Rynja, 2021)
Rynja briefly tells us about the discipline involved in expanding your world and career beyond what you already know.
Ryan Teo, better known as Rynja, has led a life that mirrors the subject matter that fascinates him. Like the tunic-clad, dauntless daredevils exploring distant lands who appear in his art, Ryan’s career has taken him far beyond the shores of his native Singapore to Europe. He began work in a Parisian studio developing games for Facebook and then moved to Germany where his day-to-day involves crafting VR games for Ubisoft. It’s an enviable and remarkable life by any stretch. By night, he lives a double-life as an NFT artist, culturing a practice that is just as rich in the storytelling skills so indispensable to him during the day as a concept image-maker. His recent series ETHERTREES is a fantastical visual tale that follows the expeditions of a botanist cataloging the recent discovery of the Ethertree – an allegory for the rapid success of the digital coin known as ether (ETH-USD) the largest after Bitcoin (BTC-USD) by market cap.
Above Rynja: #01 Ethertree Stage 2: Light (Copyright © Rynja, 2021)
What’s your reason for doing what you do?
As an artist, I have the urge to create constantly- long before NFTs were a thing.
Is there anything in particular that inspires your practice? And tell us what your artwork represents to you.
Real life. There is a lot to learn from observation. It represents my need to constantly improve and experiment. I try to push the boundaries with each new piece.
Is there an artist or are there several you look up to and who have influenced your work?
Martin Deschambault, Ausonia and Jama Jurabaev are some artists I really admire.
What has been your favourite project in the NFT sphere?
Piggybank because it took an enormous amount of effort and coordination to get 21 artists to collaborate on this. I think the result speaks for itself.
I think it does. On that note, what superpower would you have and why?
Teleportation would be a real time-saver.
Do you have anything else you’d like to say to aspiring artists?
Have a backup plan. 99% of artists will not be able to survive on selling NFTs alone. Keep experimenting and learning to stay on top of your game, especially if you’re trying to get into the industry.
