Katherine And Jens: The O Future Artist Duo

Katherine Mills Rymer and Jens Bjornkjaer together founded O Future. O Future, a digital and analogue art and music group, based in Los Angeles. They develop all their visual and musical works on their own. They have published 5 albums, 16 music videos, and hundreds of still and moving photos. They have displayed 4 algorithmic operas. The pair have been featured in hundreds of prestigious media outlets since their debut in 2013.

The New York Times, The Guardian, ID, Qmag, Interview Mag, Pitchfork, and Wonderland are just a few that covered them.

“A treat to the ears, warbling synths, plucky string sections and shimmering vocals” ~ The New York Times

“Listening to O Future is like having a really sexy nightmare that you won’t want to wake up from.” ~ID

“So intriguing that as soon as the track finishes, the desire to hit the replay button is irresistible.” ~Qmag

Jens is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist. Beginning with the violin at the age of four and progressing to the saxophone as a teen. Jens is capable of playing almost any instrument you put in front of him. Along with their immense popularity and accolades for their music, the pair has a unique perspective on art. In their art, they set up a powerful emotional tone with futuristic aesthetics. Their artwork, both digital and analogue, encompasses several emotions. Their digital artwork has a distinctly futuristic, yet melancholic appeal. The contradicting extremes sit quite well with the present times. Katherine has Asperger’s syndrome, which suggests she has high emotional availability. Providing her with the capability to excel in her areas of interest, aesthetics.

The pair has written music for films and the Royal Danish Theatre. They also composed for Lars von Trier (Melancholia) and Ai Weiwei’s ‘Vivos,’ which debuted at Sundance 2020. They worked together on Spacejam 2 as well as with Martin de Thurah (Kanye West, James Blake), Jesse Draxler, and the Allen Ginsberg Foundation featuring Ai Weiwei. Their art transcends and combines the conventional divides between digital and analogue visuals; as their musical compositions do for the electronic and orchestral theme.

Katherine and Jen’s passion for art stems from within. They are inspired to create art in any form. The pair feels they were born with the urge and drive to create. The concept behind what they do is to express themselves via art. Telling us about how they decided what they will be doing, they said, “There is no other option. As artists, we were born with the necessity to create. Fabrication whether musically, aesthetically, emotionally whatever is a push from within.”

Their abilities never seem to be in short supply in their area of work. Their latest NFT art is greatly awaited. Polinate asked them about the concept behind their work. The duo said, “To make stuff that no one else is making in all genres and disciplines. Even though we still wanna be part of the general zeitgeist, we aim for being just over the horizon, making the first step into the puddle.” Talking about their dream projects the pair further added, “ The possibilities are endless. Having a solo show at a big gallery. Making aesthetics for brands we dig. Making more films. Premiering our new symphony with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It’s all folding into itself, this modern art/commerce idea or moment right now. Everything is everything.”

Seeking to be independent as artists, the pair are taking the power into their hands. They recognise how blockchain technology may be utilised to empower artists like themselves. They are exploring the burgeoning digital art world in the blockchain environment. A paradigm shift is driving many artists to this arena. The duo added, “Well, one goal is to be sustainable on our terms as artists. To build a scaffold around ourselves so we can be independent. That is why metaverse/crypto environments and ideas are so thrilling. It offers (at least in theory) a path to this utopia, where artists can control and be recompensed in various ways from various sources.”

Their work is a manifestation of their individuality. Providing their global perspective sewn together drawing inspiration from their lives and experiences. They have developed a distinct atmosphere by merging all aspects of their trade. Talking about the Artwork they most identify with, they added, “Well, It’s pretty much a universe unto itself. Since we have constructed all the aesthetics, art, music and general into a ‘world building’ feeling. All of it is intensely personal. And biographical, but woven into surrealist emotionality and laconic futurism.”

Polinate asked the duo the best piece of advice they ever received that helped them with their creativity or life in general. “Nothing is worth doing if it isn’t done right,” Jens responded. “I saw this today and it’s the best thing I have ever seen,” Katherine adds “Do not kill the part of you that’s cringe, Kill the part of you that cringes”

The duo’s compositions are an amelioration of their identities and ideas. “Whenever I encounter something truly great I get inspired and jealous of the grandness and just want to create my own grandness.” Jens describes his sources of motivation. Katherine continued to contribute her ideas for inspiration. She added, “I think a lot about embarrassing moments and soft moments of vulnerability like flirting or public crying. These things give me portals into fabrication somehow.”

We asked the founders of O Future to share their experiences with our community. They revealed their wisdom to the PoliNation. The O Future duo said, “Keep trucking! Arts life/balance is no balance. It’s totally over everything, you never clock out or take a vacation in the same way so don’t put expectations on yourself to have this binary freedom. But making is a pleasure for odd ones like us, so it is not too much of a drag. Even though sometimes it can be overwhelming.”

O Future: Katherine and Jens

O Future’s collections: Link

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