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| Yoyojin's 'Yoyo Shape 1" and "Yoyo Shape 7' are part of the series that have been showcased both at the physical exhibition "Sound, Drawing" at Gongjang Gallery in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, and on OpenSea, the biggest NFT marketplace. Courtesy of Yoyojin |
Artist Yoyojin holds Korea's first ever physical exhibition incorporating NFTs
By Park Han-sol
In February, "Nyan Cat," an iconic animated GIF of a flying, Pop-Tart-shaped cat that became an internet sensation a decade ago, sold for nearly $600,000. Less than a month later, celebrated graffiti artist Banksy's original, "Morons," was purposefully burnt up by its buyer and has subsequently been sold as digital art for $380,000.
Just when people started grasping the idea of buying and selling a digital image for a hefty sum, news emerged of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey selling the first-ever tweet he made back in 2006 for a whopping $2.9 million.
What do these seemingly inconceivable cases have in common? They were all sold as NFTs (non-fungible tokens), the latest blockchain phenomenon.
NFTs are one-of-a-kind tokens that can represent any unique digital asset from artworks, memes to even tweets. These tokens cannot be interchanged or replaced with something else, similar to a unique collectible card or a painting like "Starry Night" ― one can take a photo of it or buy a reproduction, but there will only ever be one original. In this case, the mere difference is that the original version is digital.
Typically, within cyberspace, every file can be easily duplicated, and much of the attempt to differentiate the original from the replication is proven meaningless. But with NFTs, each image can be "tokenized" to create a unique digital certificate of ownership. Although it can still be copied, downloaded and shared, NFT proves that only the buyer possesses the original.
But how do we know that such certificates are not forged? Every time a digital image is traded or sold in online marketplaces like OpenSea, Rarible, SuperRare and Foundation, information about such transactions is tracked and recorded in the Ethereum blockchain. The blockchain is a public, shared ledger that is, in theory, tamper-proof since every bit of information is maintained by thousands of computers around the world.
"It all boils down to an idea of ownership of a digital asset," artist Im Ho-jin, who goes by the alias Yoyojin, told The Korea Times in Gongjang Gallery in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, where he is currently holding an exhibition called "Sound, Drawing." This is in fact the first ever attempt made in Korea to incorporate NFTs into a physical exhibition.
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| Artist Im Ho-jin, who goes by Yoyojin / Courtesy of Yoyojin |
Naturally then, the interesting feature of this exhibit is the comparison made between the tangible art and the NFT art. Yoyojin is actively toying with such an idea by releasing the changes in sales status of both types of artworks on his Twitter account every day. His most recent post made on April 13 reads, "NFT art vs Physical art at my exhibition. Which could (be) value(d) more? NFT: $7,839.11 (-$22.64) bid. Physical: $7,463.75 (-$16.22) sold."
"I think that taking a look at how the same artwork is being appreciated differently depending on the platform creates a fascinating narrative," he said.
The artist first took interest in NFT three years ago when his friend introduced him to CryptoKitties, a blockchain game centering on purchasing, collecting and selling unique virtual cats.
"I couldn't believe at first that a mere digital image of a tiny cat was being sold for 3,000 dollars, let alone 5,000. Like many others, I was joking around, saying 'Oh, so if I just doodle something and put it up on the net, would I strike gold?'"
But a chance to study the blockchain technology, whose stored information, in essence, cannot be forged or manipulated, made it a fascinating subject for him. When Mr. Misang became one of the first Korean creators to successfully sell his NFT art this year, Yoyojin could witness the growing demand for NFT and began to look for ways to incorporate it into his own exhibition.
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| Yoyojin's 'Sound, Drawing' held at Gongjang Gallery in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, is the first ever physical exhibition in Korea to incorporate NFTs. Courtesy of Yoyojin |
He said the NFT can bring a new paradigm for both crypto collectors and artists. For buyers, NFTs can be both an emerging investment opportunity and a new form of virtual art collecting. For creators, it can unlock a whole new market and revenue streams for their works.
"In the traditional world of fine arts collecting, the physical works were given much more value. But in the crypto market, we begin to see collectors who place higher value on the digital work," he explained. "What this means for creators is that there is a whole new market and cultural demand of a significant size for virtual works that they can target."
To Yoyojin and many other artists, NFTs, although at an extremely early stage, are a necessary concept for future digital advances.
"Even outside the context of art, the fact that an individual can own a tradable digital asset opens up infinitely new possibilities. The value of a digital asset, which has long been unrecognized since the content was easily replicated and shared without consequences, is finally coming under the spotlight."
In March, just a month ago before his exhibition opened, Yoyojin uploaded one of his previous artworks, "Freedom from Everything" (2017), on OpenSea to test out the system and see for himself whether it will actually lead to a concrete sale. It was his first attempt to make his name known in the NFT market.
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| 'Freedom from Everything' (2017) / Courtesy of Yoyojin |
"Honestly speaking, it went unnoticed," he said. But it was an opportunity for him to realize something crucial ― when it comes to self-branding and marketing, NFT is no exception.
Contrary to popular assumptions ― usually made after witnessing some of the most extreme, sensational million-dollar sales ― just because a work becomes NFT, it does not guarantee that one would immediately strike gold. The conversation about the appeal of its content, its message and the artist as a person needs to be generated first to make an impact on the buyers, just like in the real art world.
"'Freedom from Everything' is a massive piece made up of hundreds of characters and objects, and therefore, requires the viewer on the platform to actually download the image and enlarge it to fully appreciate its details. But in the NFT market, I'm a newbie with no solid fan base and largely unknown works, so naturally, there weren't that many people who took such efforts."
He learned that in order for the crypto artist to successfully build presence, activities in online communities, especially on Twitter, Reddit and most recently, Clubhouse, are a must.
"Twitter and Reddit are the platforms favored by those who have been intimate parts of gaming culture, which later helped pave the way for cryptocurrency. Through these communities, artists can communicate with the interested audience members as well as share and introduce each other's works," he explained. "And in Clubhouse, there are a number of rooms dedicated to NFTs that one can enter to present their works to other artists, collectors and moderators."
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| Yoyojin at his studio / Courtesy of Yoyojin |
But for Yoyojin, "Freedom from Everything" didn't just impart the lesson of the importance of online community building. The artwork is also the very essence of his artistic background and identity that primarily matured in Zambia.
The piece is inspired by the Freedom Statue, a historic monument dedicated to fighters for national liberty erected in front of Zambia's New Government Complex building. "Zambia and Korea share the painful history of colonialism. As a Korean, I could sympathize with the thirst for freedom and tribute to such spirit," he said.
The 37-year-old artist has in fact spent nearly a quarter of his life ― nine years to be exact ― in Africa. It was 2010 when he first reached the continent as a young activist volunteering for the Korean National Commission for UNESCO's "Bridge Africa Program."
For four years, he was engaged in a number of community arts projects in the rural villages of Zambia. As a member of the visual arts NGO, ART4ART, he took part in promoting discussions about HIV/AIDS, one of the major public health concerns in the region, through documentaries and animations.
He also formed a youth film production club, which became a vehicle for the villagers to visually capture their real stories of unemployment, domestic violence and other social concerns. In addition to Zambia, the artist travelled across Tanzania, Rwanda, Namibia and South Africa for live painting performances, murals and later, solo and group exhibitions.
His nearly decade-long experience naturally came to shape his artistic world and themes surrounding love, peace and hope for a better future. After his return to Korea in 2019, the characters and symbols that define his oeuvre have appeared across different canvases and walls. Since then, the artist has continued to expand his mode of expression using immersive AR and VR technologies, sonic interaction and now, blockchain.
