NFTs allow Malaysian artists to express themselves freely

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

Southeast Asian artists are benefiting from non-fungible tokens, which are helping to democratise art and increase sales.

Before the COVID-19 epidemic shut down art and performing places in March 2020, the art festivals and galleries of Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur and George Town provided a lifeline and inspiration to the country's artists.

However, many have struggled to subsist as full-time, "physical" artists as a result of the disruption of the past 20 months, and have been forced to step outside of their comfort zones.

 

Some people have dabbled in the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrency.

NFTs are one-of-a-kind digital assets that are used to symbolise ownership of a virtual item. Unlike Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, NFTs cannot be swapped for cash, making them scarce and increasing their value.

This notion is ideal for collecting artworks and has sparked an unprecedented wave of digital consumerism: in March, American digital artist Mike Winklemann, aka Beeple, sold an NFT of his work Everydays: The First 5000 Days for an astounding $69 million at Christie's in London.

 

NFT art began as a pleasant pastime for graduates of design, multimedia, engineering, and architecture in Malaysia.
Filamen, a Kuala Lumpur-based collective of diverse digital creatives, popularised it when they held the Seni Kripto ("Cryptoart" in Malay) show in April 2021 at their physical home, the University of Malaya's Digital Art Gallery.

 

The Malaysian art industry rapidly recognised the potential of NFTs, hosting the first Crypto Art Week in July and launched Pentas.io, the country's first NFT marketplace.
It has already paid out millions of Malaysian ringgit in cryptocurrencies to several local musicians.

 

New concept of art

 

Mumu the stan AKA Munira Hamzah (Moon) of Malaysia NFT said Al Jazeera, "NFT in Malaysia has witnessed substantial growth this past year."
This new non-profit organisation and internet gallery aims to empower and promote Malaysian artists in the NFT community by raising finances, providing instructional materials, and providing peer support.

 

"Earlier this year, you could probably count on one hand the number of Malaysian artists minting and selling NFTs.
Over the course of several months, that number grew to hundreds, and now we're definitely in the thousands," Moon added.

Malaysian artists' NFT works include 3D animations, Internet memes, and graphics inspired by the Southeast Asian country's multiethnic culture.

The growth of the NFT scene, according to Moon, has changed the way artists in Malaysia traditionally make a living – away from commissioned artworks – providing "newfound confidence as well as a source of income that isn't dependent on client requests, but rather on what artists want to personally achieve creatively."

NFTs have reintroduced joy into art for some of them.

 

Kenny Ng, a Penang-based artist, told Al Jazeera, "It allows me the ability to grow my creativity, exhibit [my work] as I choose, track copyright ownership, and retain records of creation."

Others have seen NFTs as a tangible way to make massive profits in Ether, the cryptocurrency that serves as the primary asset of Ethereum, the decentralised, open-source blockchain with smart contract capability where NFTs are traded.

 

Earlier this month, Kuala Lumpur-based graffiti artist Abdul Hafiz Abdul Rahman, better known as Katun, made headlines when he sold two of his NFT collections for 127.6 ETH — the equivalent of 1.6 million Malaysian ringgit ($400,000) – in less than 24 hours.
It was the most expensive batch of NFTs ever sold in a single release by a Malaysian artist.

"It's plain to see that, if done correctly, the money gained can actually make a difference for any Southeast Asian musician," Katun told Al Jazeera.

 

Even if NFT appears to be a get-rich-quick gimmick, it has evolved into a progressive, helpful community in Malaysia.
Katun, for example, developed 4 Stages, a digital platform dedicated to connecting Southeast Asian musicians.

"There are so many talented artists here who don't get enough exposure to the rest of the world," Katun told Al Jazeera, adding that NFT's rapid growth and global reach will be critical in propelling both the presence and monetary gains of Malaysian artists well beyond the country's small physical art market's geographical and economic constraints.