Introduction
“The Absolute Best” is not merely a digital art exhibition; it is a philosophical experiment exploring body, temporality, and consciousness. Since our open call, we have received submissions from students at art academies worldwide, who have utilized AI, 3D modeling, and data visualization as languages, questioning the limits of existence through codes and pixels.
After comprehensive evaluation, we are pleased to announce the results:
Evaluation Criteria
Theme Alignment: Abstract interpretation of “temporality–spatiality–digital perception” in sports.
Technical Execution: Innovation in medium and compatibility with hardware.
Artistic Philosophy: Capacity to materialize and deconstruct “the absolute best.”
Award Winners
First Prize (¥10,000)
Dynamic Interplay
Comments:
Using a stream-of-consciousness symbolic narrative, this work merges ancient warrior imagery,the animalistic strength of cheetahs, and installation visuals. By employing slow-motion, it explores both the elegance and primal tension of fencing, critically engaging with concepts of history and order to dialectically reshape the idea of “ultimacy.”
Second Prize (¥5,000)
Confrontation
Comments:
Echoing Laozi’s wisdom—”The softest in the world rides roughshod over the hardest”, true supreme swordsmanship relinquishes the obsession with “absolute speed,” allowing consciousness to flow with the opponent’s breath, mastering time and space in a state of selflessness. With AI as ink and fencing as its brushstroke, this piece transfigures rapid fencing duels into Eastern philosophy, finding victory and defeat in the subtle pauses between ink and algorithmic matrices, where final judgment becomes akin to the call of a distant crane.
Third Prize (¥3,000)
1. En garde
Comments:
This work narrates the journey of a young fencer from beginner to Olympian through 2D storytelling, while using 3D optical motion capture to depict virtual and physical confrontations in the athlete’s mind, composing a poetic interplay of dual temporalities and competitive
psychology.
2. #DataPuncture
Comments:
An experimental video work using Olympic fencing data as raw material, this piece transforms “#” symbols into fencing grids, tracing champion fencer Áron Szilágyi’s tactical offense and defense.
By marking tactical vulnerabilities with red dots, the work elevates data visualization into geometric poetry, dynamically reinterpreting the dialectical relationship between precision and chance in competitive sports.
Merit Awards (¥1,000 each)
1. Sword Code
Comments:
Inspired by the water towns of Wuxi, this work employs glasses-free 3D technology to craft an underwater fencing fantasia, in which ethereal fencing spirits reach out to the human realm.
Amid the ripples where virtual and physical realities intertwine, it enacts a dialogue between the power of competition and the gentle grace of digital art.
2. The Absolute Best
Comments:
With a cyberpunk aesthetic, intricate hand-drawn textures and vivid neon lighting effects collide, generating a powerful visual impact.It brims with youthful energy.
Judging Panel
Head of Media, International Fencing Federation (FIE)
Organizing Committee, 2025 World Junior Fencing Championships
AF Project Team
Yinyin, Digital Assets Researcher (Art Columnist), Goldsmiths, University of London
Hongyuan Zhu, Independent Curator, Goldsmiths, University of London
Closing Note
We sincerely thank all the creators who have used digital art as a blade to pierce the boundary between fencing and art, offering us a new vision of motion, discipline, and creative freedom.