Looks like another digital art project is making its way to Kazakhstan’s wall of fame. When QazMonitor discovered an intriguing animated video of a 3D torsyq – traditional Kazakh national leather crockery – on Instagram, the first assumption was that it was just another NFT project. But it is something entirely different.
Tor.syq is a creative non-commercial union of 26 digital artists and motion designers mainly from Kazakhstan, but also including members from Uzbekistan, and Germany. The collective’s Instagram page, @tor.syq, posts 3D renders of the same torsyq model. The artists are united by a single idea – building the community and telling the world about it through their works.
QazMonitor reporter talked to Kairzhan Salybaev – a member of Tor.syq who revealed what the project is really about.
“We are motion designers and graphic designers. And I'm familiar with each participant. In May, a couple of designers were thinking of doing creative projects for self-development. They also aimed at leaving a trace by showing our national attributes in a new form. First, we decided to do a project with torsyq. We searched the whole Internet and noticed that there are very few pictures or works with it.
Its shape is unusual—different from all NFT or similar projects. We started working on the project really quickly. On the second day, we thought that maybe we should call more friends—quite many, to be frank— each talented in their own way. We approached almost 70 designers. And those who were eager to do so came up with their own interpretations of the project. There was no specific task, except that the shape of the torsyq was readable and the position in the frame was the same for all of them,“ said Salybaev.
Salybaev clarified that the works available on the collective’s page are part of the first ‘season’, and other works are already on the way. The next season will be united by the idea of ‘baspana’ [Kazakh word for shelter], where artists will have even more creative freedom. Kairzhan said that artists will be able to create any space they want (from a cave to a simple room) with the camera motion in 3D scene being the only thing that’s the same.
The goal is simple: I want us, designers, to start communicating with each other. And later we can tell the masses about ourselves, and showcase our skills. This will gradually transform into a community of designers/artists. A community where we will be able to raise awareness of global issues.
So far, Kazakhstan is ‘an empty steppe’ in terms of community and organization of such events. First and foremost, we are creative people, and there is a need for a platform.
Kairzhan added that non-commercial projects like Tor.syq are the ones where designers can have full creative freedom, especially compared to commercial projects, “where someone is always watching behind your shoulder”.
Tor.syq may soon be joined by artists from the Kyrgyz Republic, South Korea, and Belgium. There are plans to launch a podcast dedicated to art, where local and international art professionals will exchange their experience.
Earlier, QazMonitor wrote about similar digital art projects, such as NFT birds, and arts of red book animals to help the endangered species.