Here’s how this Canadian woman’s art ended up in a Metallica music video

Kelly Richardson, a digital artist and professor at the University of Victoria, creates art visualizing the extinction crisis.

She crafts unique images showcasing humans’ impact on the natural landscape using video, CGI, animation and sound.

“For me, it’s about engaging the public in bigger conversations about where we’re all heading,” Richardson said in a University of Victoria press release dated April 7. “There is potential for people to look up the work, see what it’s really about and possibly influence the wider public that way.”

One day, she got a cryptic message from an art curator on Instagram.

“(She asked) what I thought about potentially my work being included in a music video,” Richardson told CTV News Vancouver. “She did not say what band, she had to keep it very, very quiet.”

The band turned out to be Metallica, and the music video was for their newest song, “72 seasons,” featured on their upcoming album.

In the background of the band’s video, three of Richardson’s pieces—titled “Origin Stories,” “Halo (2021)” and “Origin Stories (AR) (2023)”—were featured.

Since the video launched on March 30, it has amassed over 4 million views on YouTube.

“The young version of me can’t quite get my head around my work being in their music video,” she said in the press release.

To watch the full interview click the video at the top of this article.