Degradation is a touchstone moving image work from Ash Thorp (b. 1983) that also stands as an unseen first look into his next film, Evident Mirror. The work and subsequent film are based on a speculative, converging path between artificial intelligence and humanity reaching singularity. Degradation was generated by uniquely crafting and accumulating over 500 individually designed frames using dozens of techniques that Thorp has acquired throughout his career. Each frame was designed to not only display a work in motion but also separately as stills. The work, which is also Thorp’s genesis NFT, brings together each frame using three looping animations, forming an intersecting triptych.
Ash Thorp is a multidisciplinary artist whose skills encompass many mediums from motion graphics, VFX, concept/digital art, photography, illustration and animation to directing. Beyond his extensive CV of commissioned work, Thorp’s short films include Epoch, Edifice, Shared Memories, and Evinetta, each of which has allowed him to showcase an uninhibited creative process and vision that have helped further propel his notoriety and career.