Within months in the art world and beyond, NFTs went from an obscure acronym to a 24/7 obsession. The historical March 2021 sale of a Beeple artwork for USD 69 million set speculators ablaze, rushing to purchase this new genre of digitally encrypted assets. The market for Non Fungible Tokens, assets tokenized on the blockchain to verify authenticity, is booming yet is an unregulated sphere in the wild west of de-fi (decentralized finance).
Digital designers, creatives and conventional artists are targeting the NFT space. Artists are especially attracted by opportunities to monetize their work outside of the exploitive conventional art world and embracing the 21st-century digital creative economy. Minting, sales platforms and online communities, consequently, have quickly evolved. However, physical infrastructure, a seeming misnomer and adverse to the digital realm requires distinct visions and strategic planning. Unfortunately, until recently, it has remained non-existent.
Co-founders of SSS Faatih Rifqi, Adam Adha, Arief Wijaksana and Prasetyo Budiman.
Southeast Asia’s first physical NFT art gallery has opened in Bali. Superlative Gallery, an extensive exhibition and community space in Legian displaying NFT art on large screens opened on 11 January 2022. The Gallery is one aspect of the supportive infrastructure to develop the Superlative Secret Society (SSS), a community of NFT art enthusiasts and collectors. The opening was highlighted by a teaser of REPUS, the second series of its NFT art collections, and six days of public discussions. From 11-16 January, SSS took over Times Square in NYC, with Superlative ads pulsating across big screens to the global audience once every 30 minutes.
Four young Javanese visionaries, Prasetyo Budiman, Arief Wijaksana, Adam Adha and Faatih Rifqi Muqaffi dream of empowering Indonesian creative communities and occupy the SSS hot seat. The SSS roadmap is a tactical plan to expand their reach in the real world on a global scale and virtually across the Metaverse and NFT space. Following the phenomenal success of their first NFT art series launched in September 2021, making more than 4600 ETH worth of sales on the OpenSea platform, around $15 million, they financed the first regional NFT art gallery. In addition, the SSS marketing includes Pop-Up events in Jakarta, New York and the UK. Strategically located in Bali, SSS aims to capitalise upon the island’s international branding power while introducing Indonesian artists to international audiences.
Superlative Gallery, 11 January with the SuperlativeSS NFT art series
“The objectives of Superlative Gallery is to embrace local and international artists while encouraging them within this very sophisticated realm. We envision the gallery as an NFT hub where digital and conventional artists can meet and collaborate,” CEO and Co-Founder of SSS, Prasetyo Budiman told the Jakarta Post. “Art and creativity in Bali have a rich cultural history and we intend to support the Balinese and help create opportunities for them. Our mantra is, from community to community, from artist to artist.”
SSS NFT Art
SuperlativeSS NFT art series is a collection of 11,110 programmatically generated and distinct avatars, made from more than 220 pieces of hand-drawn artworks by SSS illustrator and Co-Founder Arief Wijaksana. The multi-coloured, fragmented figurations describe avatars that fuse animal, robotic, alien and human features. “Drawing has been a hobby since childhood,” said Arief, born in 1989 in Tangerang, who previously worked at a digital agency as an illustrator and motion designer. “My style is more like doodles, lines that connect without breaking. My journey into creating NFT art was trial and error. However, being a part of the SSS team has now allowed me to fulfil my dream of being a professional artist.”
Live projection during the Superlative Gallery opening 11 January of SSS advertisement at Times Square NYC
“Beyond the financial and ownership advantages of NFTs, one of the most valuable benefits for artists is building relationships and connections. Artists and illustrators can get acquainted with their foreign counterparts and collaborate. In comparison, NFT collectors can acquire useful connections and information about the NFT art scene. In addition, they can learn about current technological developments, especially blockchain technology, Web 3.0 and the metaverse.”
Education
The NFT art space is plagued with hacking, scams, frauds, theft, and plagiarism. In addition, there are grey areas, misconstrued ideas and general confusion. Education is essential to assist in the positive development of the space so new enthusiasts and collectors can learn to do their due diligence homework understand the market and the collectors in the process of achieving success.
“The digital sphere increasingly negates the need for physical human contact. We believe, however, that real human interaction is essential. It’s fundamental to developing strong relationships based on trust,” said SSS co-founder and Community Manager Adam Adha, born in Jakarta in 1998, who has a degree in Sociology and a background in digital marketing. “I oversee the introduction of SSS to a broader audience through social media portals Twitter and Discord. Networking and sharing knowledge about our objectives while introducing new SSS members NFT projects. Our gallery program is a vital aspect in community building.”
Giving Back
“Giving back is mandatory, and we have a policy of social responsibility. Our donations total more than $35,000 to Share The Meal to help fight global hunger, amounting to over 65,000 meals, distributed through the World Food Program African region,” Prasetyo said, born in Kebumen, Central Java in1996. “Bali is the face of Indonesia, while our SSS community of collectors are scattered throughout the world. The SSS founders love everything Bali and are saddened by the dramatic downturn in the economy. We wish to build sustainable infrastructure for the local creative communities and assist in the Bali recovery.”
Superlative Gallery
Jalan Legian No. 99, Kuta, Badung, Bali.
Words: Richard Horstman
Images courtesy: Superlative Secret Society
Follow Richard on Instagram @lifeasartasia
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