ASHLEY ANG unravels how Singapore’s artists are gaining much needed exposure and revenue, while also exposing themselves to copyright risks.
Illustrator Si Qi, also known by her online handle ‘laughandbelly’, began selling Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) of her artwork online for the cryptocurrency Ethereum in the first week of April 2021.
Towards the end of May, her profits totalled around $10,000.
The full-time professional artist of five years is just one of many who are expanding their marketplace into the cryptocurrency scene through Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs. According to Forbes Advisor, “an NFT is a digital asset that represents real world objects” on the blockchain and are similar to other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. But while one Bitcoin can be exchanged for another, each NFT is unique; they are non-fungible, hence the name.
“It’s like a more elaborate way of trading something,” M.L, former marketing manager for cryptocurrency Pivx, says, comparing NFTs to Pokemon cards. Having worked for exchange Cape Town Bitcoin from 2018 to 2020, she now pursues NFTs and has been offering advice on local artist forums. “It’s just the value can skyrocket within days or months.”
Si Qi, however, has had no experience with cryptocurrency and entered the NFT craze through online friends. Her illustrations of cutesy, bubble-eyed characters have found their way to invitation-only Ethereum marketplaces Opensea and Foundation. Opensea is the “first and largest marketplace for user-owned digital goods”, with an estimated 18,552 users worldwide as of Apr 27, 2021, while Foundation earned its name through the viral US$590,000 (S$797,757) sale of the ‘Nyan Cat’ internet meme.
The NFT scene may seem cold and transactional with its complex mechanics, but the community is far from that. Si Qi praises the “amazing” local NFT community, having casually met up with fellow artists just last month. They have all converged into NFTs from various creative industries. Among them is Ms Shavonne Wong, primarily a fashion photographer with over 6,000 followers on Twitter.
“If you have an opportunity to enter the crypto community, take it,” M.L says, encouraging aspiring NFT artists to do their own research and talk to community members about this new and innovative medium. “Don’t let people close doors for you.”
ARTISTS’ EFFORTS OF NO VALUE TO THIEVES AS NFTS SKYROCKET
Digital art hobbyist Van (Evandrare) googled his username in late April 2021 to receive a nasty surprise: his artwork had been vandalised and sold on Opensea without his consent. It was bidded at 0.585 ETH (S$178.04), more than thrice of what Van makes per month on commissions.
Van was “devastated” over the listing. “It feels really unfair that my own account has barely any traction and yet someone else out there is gaining from my works.”
Van is not alone in his struggles with NFT-related art theft. Cryptocurrency’s anonymity allows for profits to be made off of any image online with the original artist never finding out. This also makes it difficult for theft to be verified.
Van and former polytechnic animation student Zyuna (zyunaarts), the designer of the character in the artwork, filed a report and posted proof of the theft on all of their social media accounts. It took several days for Opensea to remove the listing, more than enough time for the NFT to have been sold.
Si Qi, too, has experienced art theft. But she only had to tweet on Twitter before the founders of the NFT marketplace stopped transactions within hours as opposed to days. Hobbyists with smaller social media presences appear at higher risk: As of April 2021, Si Qi has over 10,000 Twitter followers while Zyuna’s and Van’s Instagrams have less than 800 combined.
“Overall, I think that this is still a risky concept,” Zyuna says, “and there are other ways to make profit.”
The theft has cemented negative impressions in both artists.
Van’s “hatred” for NFTs has only been made “more personal”. He advocates for stopping the growth of NFTs and already refused to follow NFT accounts prior to the theft. On the other hand, Zyuna believes that as long as artists “retain basic courtesy towards other creators”, they should be free to sell art however they wish.
“No one is obliged to change their thoughts or actions for someone else so in this case, we should agree to disagree.”
Comments