NFT exhibition led by artist Luke Cornish to open in Sydney
Fancy entering the metaverse? How about buying cryptocurrency and setting up a crypto wallet? This exhibition has a stand for that.
What do Kim Jong-un, Mike Tyson and Elon Musk have in common?
The only plausible answer is nothing, but that won’t stop Sydneysiders meeting Jong-un donning Tyson’s infamous face tattoo while wearing a T-shirt featuring the face of Musk at an exhibition on Friday.
The artwork – part of The Kimmies series – is not a real painting but rather a non-fungible token, one of about a dozen NFTs that will line the walls of a first-of-its-kind exhibition in Barangaroo.
Behind this collaboration of physical and virtual artworks is stencil artist Luke Cornish, also known as E.L.K., who has been dabbling in the world of NFTs and Web3 for the best part of a year.
“This is even my first time seeing NFTs on a wall on a screen and it’s just so exciting. It’s a whole new medium that opens up so many possibilities outside of my studio,” Cornish said.
Edge of Chaos, which opens at Exchange Place in Tower Three in Barangaroo on Friday, is not just about collaborating digital and physical art, but about inviting people only just learning of Web3 into its world.
“You could arrive knowing nothing and leave having entered the metaverse with an NFT and a crypto wallet,” Cornish says.
“The upstairs is really targeted towards people who don’t know about NFTs. We’d like it to be an inclusive experience for everybody.”
On the second floor of the event, where the Kimmies NFTs made in partnership with artist Duco van Breemen will be on display, are several pairs of virtual reality goggles connected to three metaverse experiences.
“We have a couple of different programs. We’ve actually collaborated with the Louvre with the Mona Lisa experience, where you’re actually standing in the Louvre and when you walk in and see Mona Lisa she talks to you,” Cornish says.
“We have another that is a flick pen in which you can practise three-dimensional graffiti.”
A Waacom tablet on the top floor allows gallerygoers to draw their own NFTs. “At the end of each week we’re going to mint an NFT based on what has been drawn by guests,” Cornish says.
For those who decide to purchase an NFT, Edge of Chaos has what it calls a wallet stand, in which gallerygoers can create a Metamask cryptocurrency wallet.
It will be needed as the art will sell in three currencies: Australian dollars, US dollars and ethereum, a cryptocurrency that is second to bitcoin in market capitalisation.
The NFTs purchased will not be once-off sales. “There will be a greater plan for the NFTs … it’s early days and we’re still working out what we can put in the smart contracts but the world’s our oyster,” Cornish says. “It’s the wild west, it’s really exciting and the possibilities are endless.”
While to many, the idea of a metaverse seems distant, Cornish says the technology already exists today and the line between virtual and physical worlds are increasingly becoming blurred.
Another major metaverse technology people use regularly but may be unaware of its Web3 use is digital twin technology. If you have ever toured a property digitally, it is likely you used Matterport’s software.
The company’s Asia-Pacific managing director, Ben Corser, says Matterport’s digital twin software is used widely in real estate. “Today, the real estate industry relies on Matterport digital twins as an essential part of the home buying, renting, selling, leasing, promoting and insuring experience,” Corser says.
Corser says digital twin software increases the likelihood of real estate transactions: “When property listings include a Matterport 3D digital twin, they secure more interest in their properties and homes sell faster.”
Much like NFTs, which have become a core part of the metaverse, serving owners with virtual benefits such as invitations to private parties, concerts and sometimes even monetary value, digital twin technology is used in metaverse construction.
“We believe digital twins can be one of the core foundations for building the metaverse,” Corser says. “It is early days, and many aspects that describe the promise and scope of the metaverse are still in the discovery and exploration stage, but the potential is there for Matterport to play a significant role in defining the metaverse.
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