NastPlas is the artistic project of Fran Rodríguez Learte (A Coruña, 1979) and Natalia Molinos García (Vitoria, 1980). Currently based in Palencia, Spain, the duo has been creating for over twenty years, focusing on visual experimentation with digital media (CGI, 3D, AI) to explore imaginary forms transformed into images, animations, and sculptures. Their unique approach blends that digital innovation with traditional craftsmanship, resulting in works that flow between both worlds in a process of constant reinvention. They aim not only to capture the beauty and fragility of nature, but also to question the future we are constructing through exponential scientific and technological advances. How can humanity relate better to the natural environment, they ask, through the harmonious co-existence of the organic and technological?

Still image from *Abylon* by NastPlas, 2025. Shown courtesy the artist ©️ NastPlas.

Where does the name 'NastPlas' come from?

The name ‘NastPlas’ wasn’t created with a specific meaning or intentional message in mind, nor does it abbreviate anything. It came about spontaneously and casually, but over time, it has become a natural reflection of our way of working. Without planning it, the name ended up connecting with the essence of our practice, which is based on the fluid and organic fusion of different disciplines. It blends the digital with the physical, the personal with the collaborative. So, although the name doesn’t have a fixed meaning, it represents the openness and constant blending that define our artistic approach.

What sparked your interest in combining art with science?

Our artistic practice has always revolved around the intersection of art, science, and technology. What really sparked our interest was the realization that these three realms not only coexist but can amplify one another to create new ways of thinking. We’re interested in how art can translate scientific advances into sensitive experiences, and how science can expand the tools of art beyond traditional limits.

More than using technology as a tool, we see it as a creative agent, almost like a third collaborator. This allows us to explore complex topics, such as evolution, ecology, or artificial intelligence, from a critical, yet visual and poetic perspective.

*Noctis* by NastPlas, 2024. Shown courtesy the artist ©️ NastPlas.

You aim to 'reinterpret the relationship between humanity and nature'. What do you think needs to change in that relationship?

What we believe needs to change is the way we position ourselves in relation to nature. For centuries, we’ve seen ourselves as external observers or even dominators of the environment, and that perspective has caused deep ruptures. We propose a more horizontal view, one that understands nature and technology not as opposites but as interconnected parts of the same ecosystem.

Art has the power to make those tensions visible. In our work, we try to show how the human and the non-human, the digital and the organic, can intertwine symbiotically. It’s not about idealizing nature, but about recognizing that we are already transforming it and that we have an ethical responsibility to do so with greater awareness and sensitivity.

*Sprendo* by NastPlas, 2024. Shown courtesy the artist ©️ NastPlas.

You seem, in general, to be setting off processes that then follow their own logic. If that is so, how much control do you have, or seek?

Yes, we do initiate processes that then develop their own internal logic. Especially when working with algorithms or artificial intelligence, a dynamic emerges that escapes total control. This surrender of control is not only intentional, it’s something we value deeply, because it allows the work to evolve in unexpected ways.

Our control lies in the initial design: defining the system, the materials, and the parameters. But once the process begins, we let it unfold, allowing for surprise and experimentation to become part of the outcome. We don’t try to close the result, we try to open the process.

*VeriXam* by NastPlas, 2023. Shown courtesy the artist ©️ NastPlas.

There's a lot of beauty in the results. Is that something you look for?

We seek a kind of beauty that’s not simply pleasing or decorative, but that also carries a sense of tension. For us, beauty is a strategy to capture attention, but also a medium for provoking reflection. We work with forms and textures that are visually attractive, but which, on closer inspection, reveal tensions, contradictions, and ambiguities.

It’s not about conventional aesthetic perfection, but about a beauty that arises from the tension between the organic and the synthetic, between control and chaos. When something in the work is perceived as beautiful, it’s often because it reflects the complexity of the world we inhabit and the responsibility we bear within it.

*Orva* by NastPlas, 2025. Shown courtesy the artists ©️ NastPlas.

How are the works in Örva made? And to what effect?

In Örva, we begin with an artistic observation and interpretation of real biological phenomena, especially how certain organisms, like slime molds, expand and adapt to the mineral surfaces they inhabit. We’re interested in how these living forms not only grow according to complex physical and chemical patterns, but also visually transform the environments they occupy.

To represent this, we use digital tools and generative algorithms that simulate interactions between the organism and the mineral surface, drawing inspiration from natural processes of adaptation and growth. The result suggests a dynamic relationship between the biological and the mineral, where both elements influence each other and transform in a continuous flow of morphological change.

Still image from *Vossil* by NastPlas, 2024. Shown courtesy the artists ©️ NastPlas.

You describe Vossil as combining fossilising with preserving. How do the two processes come together in the work?

In Vossil, we aim to portray the contrast and dialogue between two temporal processes: fossilisation and preservation. Fossilisation represents the lasting imprint of the past, a natural process that turns organic remains into petrified traces, speaking to the fleetingness of life. Preservation, on the other hand, is a conscious and active effort to care for what is still alive, protecting the present to prevent its loss.

These ideas converge in the work through the use of ceramic surfaces that evoke fossil-like textures and forms, while also conveying a sense of care and attention toward the living through the handmade elements: their imperfections and traces preserve visible marks of their making, granting them that organic quality of care. Vossil creates a visual and conceptual dialogue between what has been frozen in time and what still has the potential to endure, inviting us to reflect on the importance of preserving the present before it becomes the past.

How are crystalline structures combined with ceramics in making Kyronis? And what relates the two?

In Kyronis, we explore the connection between two seemingly different processes: the molecular crystallisation of proteins and the handcrafted production of ceramics. Both involve profound transformations of matter, whether organizing molecules into symmetrical patterns or shaping and firing ceramic materials to create form and texture.

We use actual protein structure data to generate geometric patterns through algorithms based on crystal symmetry, which we apply to ceramic surfaces crafted by hand. The visual tension arises from the mathematical precision of the crystals against the irregularities of manual work.

What connects these two processes is our interest in how matter organizes and transforms at different scales, creating beauty through the interplay of order and imperfection, of the invisible and the tangible.

You’ve just participated in the group show ‘Rendered Reality’ at StolenSpace Gallery in London, and your piece ‘Morgazma’ was recently on view at Garage CUPRA in Madrid as part of the PHotoESPAÑA festival, where you won the festival’s first Digital Art Competition. Where can people see your work in the coming months?

Currently, our work can be seen at Sholeh Abghari in Marbella, and from 23 October - 2 November 2025, our work will be shown at Festival della Scienza 2025, Genoa.

For more upcoming exhibitions and projects, we regularly update information through our social media channels and website.

014 SPOTLIGHT: NASTPLAS