The new wave of digital creations, which are gradually becoming ubiquitous on social media and in brand campaigns, is disrupting the antiquated, normative views of beauty. “Beauty to me is embracing yourself and your imagination. I love translating all kinds of possibilities and turning it all into something untouchable but aspirational,” says Ruby Gloom. The Hong Kong-born digital artist’s elaborate compositions unify diverging themes of cyber-futurism, nature, integration of technology in everyday attire and search for identity.
Fashion advertising and campaigning are arguably headed towards a digital future. More and more luxury brands worldwide are testing out the advantages of utilising CGI characters and 3D compositional backdrops over live models and unpredictable real-life settings. “It avoids the problems of in-real-life productions,” says Gloom. It also allows labels the complete control over the brand image.
Total control over one’s image might also be the reason for the emergence of virtual influencers, the paradox which plays a key role in Gloom’s prevailing visual exploration of the construction of identities. “I think different purposes of the use of virtual identities can bring different effects in real life,” the artist says, “But still, we can never tell if a real person’s experiences are true or fake either, so the sense of belonging and influences they seem to have could also be virtual.”
Having collaborated with Grimes on her Buffalo Zine cover – featuring the musician’s digital alter ego, WarNymph –, Ruby Gloom muses about her earlier stages of career, themes behind her 3D creations, the virtualisation of experiences and the inevitability of the digital future.
You were born and raised in Hong Kong. In what ways has the culture there influenced and informed your aesthetic as a 3D artist?
In Hong Kong, we have a mixture of foreign and Chinese culture. I think what inspired me the most about Hong Kong is the complexity of neon lights, late-night crowdedness, and the combination of the world’s advanced buildings mixed with the old blocks. The visual explosion you can see in HK has nurtured the sophistication of my aesthetics.
Where does the name Ruby Gloom come from? Is this alias a reference to Ruby Gloom – the animation series from the 2000s?
It is from a Canadian cartoon TV show. An old friend of mine who is from Canada picked that name for me when I registered my Instagram account, and I have continued using this name ever since. The cartoon is about a spooky kid named Ruby who is surrounded by weird friends that people are usually afraid of – like skeletons and ghosts, but they found each other and became friends.
You have mentioned that in the earlier stages of your career as a digital creator, your friends and collaborators helped you master the 3D art skills. Did you have any formal art education or did you learn by making?
In the beginning, I was inspired by many digital artists. I was looking for more concepts in graphic design for my brand so I picked up my Macbook and learned SketchUp Pro. In terms of skills, I’m still not very good but I have been spending at least five hours a day practising. I have never actually studied art before, instead, I did English Literature.
What would you say is the visual language of Ruby Gloom?
Ruby the avatar is stronger than I am in real life but still as vulnerable as I am. She is a translation of myself in arts and emotions.
Your elaborate artwork unifies diverging themes of cyber-futurism, nature, integration of technology in everyday attire and search for identity. What are some of your inspirations and influences when creating your avatars?
I have always been fascinated by Sci-Fi movies and Japanese manga/anime. Since I was 13, I have been reading a lot of manga and watching anime. Japanese anime is very special and inspiring. They create stories and worlds that do not exist in real life, which is extremely interesting. And my favourite movies are Perfect Blue and A Kite. These two inspired me a lot about females with broken hearts and sad experiences, cold outside but with a warm heart. Additionally, with the background of real-life cyberpunk environment I live in (Hong Kong), I kind of gather all of these together and let Ruby replace my identity online.
Fashion is one of the recurring themes in your work. Apart from elaborate cyber costumes, your characters sport brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Chanel. Also, in 2015 you launched your fashion brand, Weegirlsclub as a side project that mixed traditional Chinese culture and ‘90s/Y2K cyber ghetto’. Is fashion design something you would consider venturing into IRL or do you think you will stick to designing digital clothes?
Since I was 4, I have been picking my own outfits every day. Fashion used to be the only way of expressing and presenting myself. Eventually, I realised that humanity and emotions are so much more important to me than aesthetics and the looks. But still, fashion is a very big part of my life and I will always love it. Rather than working on fashion brands/products, now I prefer more sustainable fashion and I would like to continue pursuing it digitally.
Tell us about the process of creating a cover for Buffalo Zine with Grimes’ digital alter ego, WarNymph. What did you want to convey through the artwork?
Grimes has always been one of my favourite musicians and artists. I still remember, back in the days, I was listening to her a lot. It was a very satisfying project for me because she gave me all the freedom to create a base on the theme. I think that I translated a lot of the admiration and fascination for her artistry by creating those images. And WarNymph seems to be Ruby’s (the avatar) only friend who shares a real person behind the character online.
We have seen the rise of magazine covers featuring avatars and digital art. Do you think fashion image is headed towards a digital future?
Yes, definitely! Because of Covid-19, a lot of content has become more digital and 3D as it avoids the problems of in-real-life productions. But then, it is always amazing to capture things in real life too. Physical art direction, styling and set design have a lot of sentimental value and touches that 3D might not allow.
As you have mentioned, “our online identities have become more of a focus than our real ones.” Virtual influencers are becoming ubiquitous on social media. How do you think this will affect identities in real life?
Virtual influencers are the biggest trend on social media these days. Online identities could vary from pretending to be someone else to replacing yourself with another person, editing yourself to become someone you want to show people or creating a completely new person. I think different purposes of the use of virtual identities can bring different effects in real life. And for virtual influencers, one thing that makes a lot of difference is ‘the sense of belonging’ with one another. But still, we can never tell if a real person’s experiences are true or fake either, so the sense of belonging and influences they seem to have could also be virtual.
You have collaborated with fashion brands like Fendi. Why do you think luxury brands are drawn to the concept of transhumanism? What is enticing to them about having a CGI character rather than a live model?
In the beginning, I think brands did it because it was a new gimmick and marketing strategy. It catches the attention of audiences and confuses them about the person in the visual – is it real or not? But now eventually, brands see more diversity in presenting their brand images and it also steps up their branding to relate to technology. With CGI characters, brands are more likely to have full control over what and how they want their products to be presented, compared to endorsing celebrities who might have their own opinions or images to speak for the brand.
Digital creations are challenging the normative views of what is beautiful or aspirational. Why do you think this change has been allowed? What does beauty mean to you and is it something you want to achieve through your artwork?
Digital creations allow extreme beauty challenges that make seemingly unachievable fashion and beauty become achievable. And I think that it also changes the beauty standards as well as the judgment about what should be accepted or not in the digital world. To me, it opens up a whole new world for beauty in a way that no one would ever question what is normal or abnormal anymore – and it is amazing. Beauty to me is embracing yourself and your imagination. I love translating all kinds of possibilities and turning it all into something untouchable but aspirational.
