Steampunk Sentinel by Trevor Jones
Steampunk Sentinel
Bio
Trevor studied at Leith School of Art and Edinburgh College of Art, graduating in 2008 with an MA (Hons) in Fine Art. From 2008 – 2015, he served as Executive Director at Art in Healthcare and tutored at Leith School of Art.
In 2012, Trevor began integrating technology with traditional art, painting large scannable QR codes and by 2013, he delved into augmented reality, using it to explore themes around digital space ownership, world politics, and celebrity. The artist met with several notable individuals to paint their portrait including Dr. Jordan Peterson, actor Brian Cox and crime writer Ian Rankin.
Trevor's interest in cryptocurrency in 2017 inspired a series of paintings depicting various crypto themes as well as key figures like John McAfee and Vitalik Buterin. In 2019, he embraced NFTs, leading to innovative collaborations with artists including Alotta Money, Pak, José Delbo and Ice Cube.
Trevor also established the Castle Party event promoting the Web3 community and raising funds for cancer charity Maggie's. Held at Stirling Castle in 2022 and Château de Vallery in 2023, these have raised over $175,000 for Maggie’s.
About the Work
My art merges traditional skills and cutting-edge technology infusing a deep understanding of Western art history. I aim to continually innovate by integrating classic techniques with modern tech, including augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and block chain.
Often drawing inspiration from Renaissance to 20th-century masters, I reimagine their worlds through a contemporary lens. My work explores cryptocurrency, technology, culture, spirituality, and politics, pushing the boundaries of the painted canvas to reveal a multiverse of visual, auditory, and cerebral stimuli.
Each artwork begins with an idea and extensive research. I develop concepts and select the most suitable physical and digital media to convey the message. Many of my pieces start as paintings on canvas, evolving into animations, music, NFTs, sculptures, writing, and events, each enriching the narrative and uncovering new dimensions of the work.
We live in an era of continuous innovation, and the most thrilling aspect of my practice is realising I have only begun to explore the limitless possibilities at the intersection of art and technology. My mission is to illuminate the past, present, and future, creating a dynamic fusion that captivates and inspires.
About This Piece
How long have you been here? Here in the Desert of Dreams and Nightmares. Putting one step in front of the other, exhausted, thirsty, lost. The dead sands around you seem to stretch for infinity broken only by the barbed thrusts of impassable mountains. How long since you embarked on your quest? And what is it you seek? All you know is that you must resist hopelessness, keep moving forward until you have crossed the desert. Although you no longer know if it even has an end.
As twilight deepens and the air chills, you think you hear the distant barking of a beast and shadows stir in your memory, tales of a great bear that roams the vast liminal regions of the world, consuming all without the sense to stay huddled around the comforting campfires of civilisation.
How long you’ve stood in this place you do not know but when you come to your senses the day has faded and the light of Luna drapes the land in a golden gossamer. The Moon has never looked so full, so bright, so close. It makes the wastelands around you seem a place out of time, the jagged silhouettes of the mountains that earlier looked like broken teeth in an ancient sun-baked jawbone appear now almost beautiful.
The mountains.
A memory stirs – are the mountains not significant? The sharp summits and plummeting cliffs, the aggressive rhythm of their outline, they speak to you in a frequency that rouses recognition within your soul, dim recollection of fragments of charts and diagrams concealed in the dilapidated tomes of private libraries. Your heart beats faster. This is the place. The end of the desert. The dullness that has clouded your mind lifts and clarity washes over you like a cooling rain. You remember embarking from the City of Illusions – the memories flood your mind. It must have been almost two years now and yet somehow it feels like two hundred. And you know your quest; you seek the knowledge of the invisible worlds which are hinted at in the hidden texts.
With this clarity you hear the mournful wail of a siren. A warning, but from whom? You sense the way ahead will be guarded. Bronze, mechanical cubes etched with shimmering circles of power appear above you, around you, floating in defiance of all natural laws, emitting howls and throbbing pulses that disorientate your senses. You slow your breathing, calm your mind. The cubes arrange themselves into the 77th Configuration. It is the form of the Angels. Your fear is banished and your spirit fortified.
The structure turns and pulses with the heartbeat of the cosmos. The configuration bursts open and before you stands Talos the Sentinel Who Guards the Border of Dreams and Nightmares. The great bronze bull rears back on his hind legs and bellows. You plant your feet and raise your arms. The bull charges.
Future
Since 2019, I’ve been exploring the convergence of traditional art and technology through NFTs and Web3. By integrating my painting skills with elements such dynamic digital art via blockchain, I’ve been able to create engaging, tech infused, interactive works of art that would never have been possible before.
NFTs have significantly transformed my practice. They offer new revenue streams, bypassing traditional commercial galleries and providing a direct connection to a global audience. This shift has enabled me to build a community around my work, offering exclusive content and benefits while engaging with supporters both online and at events like my castle party.
Overall, embracing NFTs and Web3 has been a transformative experience, reshaping how I create, share, and monetize my art. While the future of this space is uncertain and changes so quickly, I’m always excited about the challenge of exploring new creative opportunities and technologies. This is an exhilarating time to be an artist!
