"NEW OLYMPICS" BY ANDREY BERGER

In 1972, paleontologists Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould published a landmark paper on a theory called "Punctuated Equilibria". The theory explains evolutionary changes of species. In contrast to the idea that life forms change slowly over time in response to the environment, the PE theory states that significant changes take place abruptly in rapid bursts of time. Punctuated equilibria proved viable to pretty much everybody during the COVID-19 pandemic. It changed the entire world's behavior in less than a year making the "Adapt or Die" motto relevant again (and not just figuratively).

"New Olympics" by Andrey Berger is a metaphor of cellular life in the endless process of degeneracy. Fluid rings resemble the rearticulated Olympic symbol, stating that nothing can be solid on the edge of the Metaverse. Berger's artworks usually combine layers of painting on the wall and digital layers in augmented reality. Such technique allows to practically add a third dimension to the urban art and aesthetics. And thanks to the NFT technology, the "New Olympics" has acquired a complete digital form becoming a part of the Urban Files inaugural drop.