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Adam Au

Jazmine Boykins is a 20-year-old digital artist based in North Carolina, US. Her online artwork, while it received positive feedback, did not earn much income. But she recently made money by selling the same pieces as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, US media reported.
Hong Kong artists frequently struggle to be seen due to limited gallery spaces. Should they start looking into this new way to market their work?
Since the pandemic, business models have been evolving. NFTs have sent the art world into a frenzy. In one month this year, according to a Time report, more than US$200 million was spent on NFT-based artwork, memes and GIFs.
Like bitcoin, NFTs are built on blockchain, which acts as a fraud-resistant decentralised ledger. But while bitcoin is fungible, NFTs are unique digital assets, hence “non-fungible”.


On the surface, the whole concept reeks of a bubble: investors paying millions for works that can often be viewed and shared online for free. Many speculative collectors see NFTs as an alternative investment instrument, no different from any other financial product.
There is a case to be made for NFTs, however. Due in part to the pervasiveness of internet piracy, many digital creations grab the attention of the younger generation, but generate low returns compared to traditional art. With tamper-resistant ownership made possible by the NFT technology, digital art can now be sold for real value. In cases of inflated value, investors are paying not just for artists’ labour, but also for bragging rights as owners of one-of-a-kind pixels.
Before this development, the value of digital art was nebulous, largely because products were freely replicable. Traditional art holds value because it exists in unique physical form. It explains why the Picasso painting, Woman Sitting Near a Window (Marie-Therese), was sold for a staggering US$103.4 million this month after only 19 minutes of bidding.

Even if NFTs are a bubble, what do Hong Kong artists have to lose by trying to enter uncharted territory? The wider public is receptive. In the West, new art lovers are seeking out new communities. NFTs can democratise the experience of art and its ownership. The technology is opening pathways for diverse voices such as Boykins, a black female digital artist.
NFTs also epitomise new aesthetics. Recently, American digital artist Beeple sold a piece for a whopping US$69 million, the third highest auction price for a living artist. Everydays: The First 5000 Days is a mosaic of 5,000 pictures, including one of Tom Hanks punching the coronavirus.
How exactly did the Nyan Cat meme sell for US$590,000?
Perhaps reflecting how unconventional and provocative NFT art is, the market also has its dark side. For example, there are questions over how current copyright laws interact with this emerging technology. Then there are environmental concerns.
Like cryptocurrency mining, NFT art involves huge amounts of computing power and high energy use, thus leaving a massive carbon footprint. Technical barriers can also be prohibitive for older artists and those who do not have the technical bandwidth to fathom an internet-fuelled fad.


Still, NFTs could open up exciting vistas to struggling Hong Kong artists. While novel technologies will have their flaws, we should focus on how we can capitalise on the NFT technology.
Nothing new and unique comes of clinging on to the mental grid of the past. Perhaps NFTs can spur Hong Kong-based artists on to experiment beyond the confines of urban spaces. If such an unorthodox business model proves viable, NFTs might represent a big leap towards the perfect combination of art, finance and blockchain technology.
NFTs may serve to empower new talent struggling to be seen. At the very least, Hong Kong artists must carry out a considered appraisal of NFTs, rather than shun them altogether. In its purest form, the NFT technology can elevate the work of artists in our digitising world, and in the process, reward artists for labour that has long been overlooked by the market.
Adam Au is the head of legal at a Hong Kong-based health care group


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Digital currencies

Climate friendly or not, NFTs could open up new vistas to Hong Kong artists

A visitor looks at an NFT digital artwork to be auctioned at the Millon Belgique auction house in Brussels, on May 18. After the sale in March of a collage of 5,000 digital images by the American artist Beeple for US$69 million, the Europeans are getting into the NFT act. Photo: AFP

(FILES) In this file photo taken on April 22, 2021 a gallery worker poses alongside an artwork titled 'Femme assise près d'une fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse)' by Spanish painter Pablo Picasso during a photocall at Christie’s auction house in central London. - Pablo Picasso's "Woman sitting by a window (Marie-Therese)" sold Thursday for $103.4 million at Christie's in New York, the auction house said. The painting, completed in 1932, was sold for $90 million, which rose to $103.4 million when fees and commissions were added, after 19 minutes of bidding, Christie's said. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION

Hong Kong cryptocurrency start-up to display Golden State Warriors’ NBA championship rings worth US$700,000 to promote non-fungible tokens

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks against the Charlotte Hornets on March 18, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: AFP

May 11, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) celebrates after making a basket against the Phoenix Suns during the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

A commemorative ring backed by NFT (non-fungible tokens) and authorised by NBA team the Golden State Warriors, on display at the CoinUnited.io flagship shop in Causeway Bay. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Carbon credits are a greener alternative to bitcoin, the climate doomsday machine

Illuminated mining rigs operate inside racks at the CryptoUniverse cryptocurrency mining farm in Nadvoitsy, Russia, on March 18. Photo: Bloomberg

How Hong Kong’s coronavirus pandemic recovery can draw on the arts

People travel on a tram covered in an ad for the “Botticelli and His Times” exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art in December 2020. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

A woman walks past an installation of giant wheels wrapped in used fabric by artist Kimsooja, organised by the Axel Vervoordt Gallery at the “Hong Kong Spotlight by Art Basel” at the Convention and Exhibition Centre on November 26, 2020. Photo: Dickson Lee

Opinion

Comment


While novel technologies will have their flaws, NFTs can spur Hong Kong-based artists to experiment beyond the confines of urban spaces
If such an unorthodox business model proves viable, NFTs might represent a big leap towards the perfect combination of art, finance and blockchain technology



While novel technologies will have their flaws, NFTs can spur Hong Kong-based artists to experiment beyond the confines of urban spaces. If such an unorthodox business model proves viable, NFTs might represent a big leap towards the perfect combination of art, finance and blockchain technology.


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Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

Opinion | Climate friendly or not, NFTs could open up new vistas to Hong Kong artists

While novel technologies will have their flaws, NFTs can spur Hong Kong-based artists to experiment beyond the confines of urban spaces If such an unorthodox business model proves viable, NFTs might represent a big leap towards the perfect combination of art, finance and blockchain technology

While novel technologies will have their flaws, NFTs can spur Hong Kong-based artists to experiment beyond the confines of urban spaces

If such an unorthodox business model proves viable, NFTs might represent a big leap towards the perfect combination of art, finance and blockchain technology