Manar Elbaz

DUBAI: Japanese pioneer VR artist Aimi Sekiguchi sat down with Arab News Japan, prior to her iconic performance at Dubai’s Expo City on Oct. 21, to discuss her journey as a VR artist, the metaverse, and her love for Arabic calligraphy.

Sekiguchi has been making 3D paintings in the metaverse since 2016, long before it became popular. In 2017, she held the world’s first private virtual reality (VR) exhibition. In 2021, she was selected as one of the top 100 influential Japanese people by Forbes Japan.

“It’s part of my imagination,” she told Arab News Japan about her love for 3D painting, adding that the 2D canvas was too limited for her.

She believes that the metaverse is opening doors for people from all over the world. “I think the metaverse is good for new challenges for artists and creators. Not only (that), but also young or disabled people can have so many possibilities there,” she said.

She added that the metaverse is helping people with globalization, bringing people from different backgrounds together. “Everyone is in the same place.”

With all the technological advances that artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse have seen in the last few years, she cannot predict what the future holds for them but believes that they will enrich people’s lives. “In five years, it is going to be very different,” she said. “Education, work, and every single format of life is going to be different.”

She added that the metaverse is going to be an open world. “It is not going to be like the Matrix”, she said. Instead, it will help people connect with each other while balancing out their real world.

While Sekiguchi has worked as a VR artist in over 10 countries, she feels a deep amount of love for Dubai. “I love Dubai so much. I came to Dubai seven times now. (It’s) very innovative,” she shared.

She added that Dubai is looking ahead, calling the emirate a “futuristic revolution.” She drew similarities between Dubai and the metaverse. “Every culture is here,” she said. “There are so many people from different backgrounds. Safety is a big concern in the metaverse, but it is already established here.”

Her love for Dubai and the Arab world made her start incorporating Arabic calligraphy in her paintings. Recently, she posted a video on social media of a 3D painting showcasing Dubai’s landscape surrounded by Arabic letters.

3D painting in Metaverse.#metaverseart #vrart #dubai pic.twitter.com/CUjgIITxbD

— Aimi Sekiguchi🌐ايمي (@sekiguchiaimi) October 1, 2023

“I love Arabic calligraphy,” she said.  “Arabic calligraphy is innovative and traditional.” She added that while generative AI could do many things, it cannot replicate the beauty of Arabic letters, saying it is a true form of inspiration for her.

Last Saturday, Sekiguchi performed at Expo City’s Al Wasl Dome, which recently won the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest immersive interactive dome. During her performance, she mixed Arabic letters with Japanese Kanji letters while it was projected on the 360-degree dome.

“This place is the best of the best,” she said about the venue. “This time, my performance is the first one (of its kind) in the world.”

The artist said that she hopes she can inspire others through her performances to realize that the possibilities of the metaverse and AI are endless.

While Sekiguchi’s performances are usually focused on the visual aspect, her performance at the Al Wasl Dome also included spatial sounds, as the sounds were matching what the artist was doing, similar to an IMAX movie in a theater.

Additionally, Japanese bakery Yamanote Atelier provided Al Wasl Café with authentic Japanese sweets, helping the audience feel more engaged in the performance.

The VR artist told Arab News Japan that, while she is bringing three senses to this performance: sight, taste, and sound, she hopes that she can engage all five senses in future performances.

She added that she is heavily inspired by the perfume culture in the UAE and aspires to bring such scents to her performances. “Arabic perfume culture is very interesting for me,” she said. “It’s very different from Japan.”

Sekiguchi performed three times at Al Wasl Dome, with each performance lasting around 5 to 10 minutes. Between each performance, guests enjoyed 3D footage shown around the dome, which also included 3D audio, as well as a performance from Japanese Taiko Drumming band Shoten.

Sekiguchi was invited by the Japanese Embassy in Saudi Arabia to perform in the Kingdom. Her performance will take place on Nov. 17 and 18 in Riyadh.

🌐The location of my physical body🌐

10/11-16 Paris🇫🇷
10/16-22 Dubai🇦🇪
10/23-11/12 Tokyo Osaka Ehime🇯🇵
11/13-20 Riyadh🇸🇦

I would be happy to meet you somewhere.✨ pic.twitter.com/0ICqprz5QV

— Aimi Sekiguchi🌐ايمي (@sekiguchiaimi) October 9, 2023