Kelly Richardson, a digital artist and professor at the University of Victoria, creates art that visualizes the extinction crisis.
She creates unique images that show man’s impact on the natural landscape using video, CGI, animation and sound.
“For me, it’s about engaging the public in larger conversations about where we’re all going,” Richardson said in an April 7 University of Victoria news release about informing and potentially influencing the general public in this way.”
One day, she received a cryptic message from an art curator on Instagram.
“[She asked]what I thought about my work potentially being included in a music video,” Richardson told CTV News Vancouver. “She didn’t say which band, she had to keep it very, very quiet.”
The band turned out to be Metallica, and the music video was for their latest song, 72 Seasons, which is featured on their upcoming album.
Three of Richardson’s plays entitled “Origin Stories”, “Halo (2021)” and “Origin Stories (AR) (2023)” were shown in the background of the band’s video.
Since the video was posted on March 30th, it has garnered over 4 million views on YouTube.
“The young version of me can’t quite come to terms with my work being featured in their music video,” she said in the release.
To watch the full interview, click on the video at the top of this article.