The first-ever collaborative NFT art series in Asia, "Chaos+" is inspired by Hong Kong photographer, Wing Shya's own book, "Chaos" and features a crypto music video
Hong Kong photographer Wing Shya, best known for collaborating with Wong Kar-wai, and Chinese pop singer Eric Chou, have joined hands to release Asia's first-ever collaborative NFT art series titled, Chaos+ on cryptocurrency collectables marketplace, OpenSea. Planned for a set of five, the debut launch starts with E1+ with the other releasing over the coming week.
The series takes inspiration from Shya's own photography book, Chaos, which was co-released with renowned Japanese graphic designer, Tsuguya Inoue last year. With this new project, Shya hopes to perpetuate the spirit of Chaos through fusing different forms of art. Chou and Shya share an interest in both photography and NFT, jumpstarting this collaboration. From Chaos, Chou selected five photographs, which were then animated by local visual artists and annotated with music by Chou himself to form a unique story.
The release of the Chaos+ NFT pieces is coordinated by Sunny Side Up, a creative agency under Sun Entertainment Group which presents NFT artworks of emerging and established artists from Asia, showcasing digital artworks that embody unique and modern aesthetics.
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On his creative process, Chou says, "When I first saw the photographs, music and stories began to form in my head. However, upon receiving the animated images, I realised their messages have changed. I, therefore, redid all the music. It was challenging but immensely satisfying." Shya and Chou are on the same page in their creative decisions. "The process of creating is always an evaluation of oneself. Every change denotes new feelings and emotions. With Eric’s participation this time, the photographs were given new souls. Therefore, the five works in Chaos+ are named +E, meaning 'given by Eric'' and interestingly resembling a math equation," says Shya.
NFT creations have been buzzing recently with well-known Japanese contemporary artist, Takashi Murakami also embracing the new art craze. An NFT (non-fungible token) is a unique identity code assigned with blockchain to any digital art such as images, songs or video clips. NTF is tracked on blockchain to provide the owner with proof of ownership, essentially eliminated authorised ownership in the market and making each transaction traceable. This not only enhances the value of collectables but also channels all the revenue to the creators of the works that allows for easy monetisation.
Shya also believes that NFTs act as identity certificates to digital artworks, protecting the owners' rights while Chou thinks that NFT is set to become the focus of the music industry in the future. "The idea of NFT crypto music allows musicians and singers to build a new music ownership database in blockchain, and a fair and open marketplace for the industry," Chou says.