The “Hiromita” NFT collection, created by contemporary artist Melek Anqi with inspiration from her Asian roots, is now exhibited to art lovers around the world. Four works from the collection which are currently displayed on “Rarible” crypto platform with BBProjecTT curation, purchased for $10,000 worth of Ethereum in January.
Melek Anqi Kocasinan, a Taiwanese digital artist of Turkish origin, who is well-known in Asia and Turkey, created the character “Hiromita” for the NFT world. The Hiromita collection was inspired by the artist’s Asian roots. The artist brought a contemporary interpretation to the cat-shaped sacred sculptures, which are likened to tigers, placed on the roofs of houses in some parts of Asia and believed to protect the household from evil spirits.
The first 16 works of the “Hiromita” collection, which will consist of 100 unique NFTs, are now exhibited on the Rarible platform with BBProjecTT Gallery’s curation. Each whimsical digital painting and animation in the series was hand drawn by the artist. Three digital paintings and one animation from the series were purchased by international crypto art collectors for $10,000.
Melek Anqi reinterpreted the traditional statues called “Roof Tiger/WaMao”, which are believed to eat ghosts with their fearsome teeth and bring wealth to a household. The artist created Hiromita as a character who eats the void inside our lives and reminds us to connect with each other through our digital screens.
In the artworks, Hiromita refers to the audience: “I eat your void”. The words “Love” and “Gold” that come out with arrows from Hiromita also invite the audience to question our current reality by referring to the real love that we try to find in the virtual platforms and to precious metals such as gold in an environment where money is increasingly becoming virtual/crypto. Ironically, digital entity Hiromita, who wants to connect with us through our screens, explores the possibility of being a real being in this increasingly digital environment.
The character of Hiromita, in the words of the artist, is “depicts the pain of healing, our longing to connect with others without losing ourselves, without ‘over-adapting’ to them. The Hiromita series questions the wound of not belonging and being left out with a colorful, funny character who wants to be included in our lives. Lack of belonging and disconnection in relationships are among the biggest problems of our age. In addition, our lives have become completely digital with the pandemic. We have been more involved in digital platforms that have transformed the way we learn, communicate and connect with each other. Being born from such a platform and wanting to establish a real connection in our increasingly digital world, where our presence in the metaverse can become more important than our physical presence, Hiromita invites us to think about our digital and physical lives.”
BBProjecTT Gallery founding partners Balkız and Beliz İnal expressed that they want to integrate BBProjecTT’s vision of high art with the exciting world of NFT: “The original digital files of the museum-quality limited edition diasec prints of Melek Anqi’s digital works have been requested as NFT for a while. After Hiromita collection, we plan to continue our curated NFT collections with Melek Anqi’s “Glow-in-the-Dark” and shamanic “Journey of the Seed” series, which drew attention from Turkish and international collectors. We are currently building partnerships with different NFT platforms. These days, mostly project-based large-scale NFTs that don’t focus on the artistic quality are covered in the news. However, we notice that an increasing number of successful photographers and digital artists have begun to establish their collections in the NFT world. The interest of traditional art collectors in digital works presented as NFT is also increasing. At the same time, successful people in the NFT and crypto world began to take an interest in art collecting. As the artists we know from the traditional art markets begin to make a presence in the NFT world, we anticipate that the quality of the artworks presented as NFT in the market will increase as well.”
The first part of the Hiromita collection was presented to art lovers digitally on the Rarible platform in January. Art lovers who receive the works as NFT will be able to display these crypto artworks on digital screens in their homes and offices. On the other hand, art lovers who want to purchase the physical form of the work, can do so from BBProjecTT Gallery in Istanbul and add a museum-quality, unique diasec print of the artwork to their collection. With each work having only one NFT and a diasec print independent of each other, collectors are offered two options as traditional and crypto art to add their collection.
NFTs of the Hiromita art collection can be viewed on Rarible at https://rarible.com/hiromita.
About Melek Anqi
Taiwanese Turkish artist Melek Anqi Kocasinan is best known for her collages combining the physical and digital worlds. She participated in fairs and international group exhibitions such as Artweeks Akaretler, Contemporary Istanbul, IAAF Istanbul and BAAF Bodrum Art Fair, and solo shows under the sponsorship of institutions such as the Global Federation of Chinese Business Women (GFCBW) and CIYO. The artist, who started primary school in Taiwan and completed his education at Bilkent in Turkey and UCLA and Yale University in the USA, discovered her interest in painting while drawing Chinese fonts in Taiwan. The artist, who was introduced to Asian art at a young age under the influence of his Turkish father who paints traditional Chinese paintings and his Taiwanese mother who is a master in Chinese calligraphy, is also influenced by Taiwan’s visual popular culture full of colorful packaging, comics and anime characters. Melek Anqi, who studied painting with Nuala Clarke in New York and fashion design / illustration training at the ESMOD International Fashion Academy, has a two-dimensional figurative abstraction style of Asian art, vibrant colors, under the influence of the Asian and North American cultures she has lived in. Thick calligraphic lines, Japanese contemporary art movement supeflat and neo-pop art influences are seen in her works. Making use of psychoanalytic and shamanic sources and her own multi-cultural life experiences, the artist uses physical and digital tools together to produce works that can be called “physi-digital art” and try to cross the border between physical and virtual realities. Her work tells attractive visual stories by synthesizing the texture and humane aspect of materials such as paint, paper and fabric, the bright colors of digital art and the possibilities that bring different worlds together. Melek Anqi was featured in Robb Report, Elle, CNA, Anadolu Agency, United Daily News Group, Istanbul Art Magazine, Art Emperor, Mirror Group, MSN News, Yahoo Taiwan, PC Home Taiwan, Taiwan Ministry of Culture, Hürriyet, Sabah, Para Magazine, Report Mag. The artist currently lives and works in Turkey and represented by BBProjecTT Gallery.
(IG: www.instagram.com/melekanqi_art )
BBProjecTT Art Gallery
Balkız İnal and Beliz İnal, who developed their knowledge and expertise under renowned poet and art writer Gülseli İnal’s knowledge and experience of more than forty years, founded BBprojecTT Art Gallery with the vision of High Art, Trust and Quality and perform their projects under three pillars: 1. Contemporary and Modern Visual Arts 2. Music Production and Festival Organizations 3. Film and Script Production. www.bbprojectt.com
What is NFT?
NFT stands for ‘Non-Fungible Token’, which has become increasingly popular in the world of finance and art. NFTs exist on the blockchain just like other cryptocurrencies. NFT proves digital ownership of an asset that may have collectible value. A work of art, video, images can be NFTs when they meet the necessary conditions. NFTs are designed and coded differently on the blockchain. This feature makes them unique and unchangeable.
Tebrikler Melek,
Başarılarından çok gurur yuydum.
Prof. Dr. Eyüp Sarıtaş