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Hong Kong Holds Its Most Diverse NFT Art Exhibition to Date

To browse the exhibition is to take a ‘crash course’ in the world of NFT art while getting to know the industry’s top players

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6:18 PM HKT, Thu May 5, 2022 3 mins read

Inaugurated on April 29 and running through June 19, 2022, Metavision is Hong Kong’s most diverse NFT exhibition to date and houses the world’s biggest names in NFT art under one roof at K11 Musea.

The project aims to introduce people of all ages and from all walks of life to the metaverse and its limitless possibilities, according to a K11 representative we spoke with.

Visitors in attendance will find much to browse on all nine floors of K11 Musea, a flagship cultural retail landmark in Hong Kong built by entrepreneur Adrian Cheng.

Metaverse-NFT-K11-Hong Kong

Metavision

Arranged by floor according to different themes, the entire collection of NFT art has an estimated worth of more than 26,000 ETH (approximately 72 million USD), states a press release.

Around 100 works of art priced between 0.8 ETH and 1,560 ETH (from 2,250 to 4,385,380 USD) are up for sale. Interested parties are prompted to scan the QR codes attached to each exhibit to indicate their intent to purchase.

Impressive in scale, Metavision features 200 individual artworks created by more than 30 solo artists, who range from 8-year-olds to established names like Tom Sachs and Takashi Murakami.

Bored Ape Yacht Club

Bored Ape Yacht Club, a familiar name among Web3 enthusiasts, is one of Metavision’s main talking points. The series rose to prominence for its association with celebrities, including Eminem, who purchased one ‘Bored Ape’ resembling the rapper for a whopping 123.45 ETH (450,000 USD), much to one art expert’s contempt.

Also available at Metavision are NFT artworks from a spin-off collection titled Mutant Ape Yacht Club, which is said to have been created to meet high demand. After all, the classic Bored Ape series has a limited quota of 10,000 NFTs.

Bored Ape Yacht Club

Meanwhile, the Moonbirds series, which was recently launched in mid-April, encompasses 10,000 utility-enabled pixel owl PFPs (profile pictures) produced by Proof Collective, a private club made up of 1,000 involved collectors and makers of NFT art.

Azuki, another established and explosive NFT project on display, encompasses 10,000 anime-style avatars that include community access to streetwear collectibles.

NFT art from the Azuki series

Other projects distinguish themselves by way of originality. Take, for instance, the Doodles collection by Burnt Toast (alias of Canadian illustrator Scott Martin), which operates as a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization), meaning all collectors possess a voice in its operations.

NFT art under the Doodles collection by Burnt Toast

An acquired taste for some but coveted by others, abstract art is also present at Metavision. Generative art project Art Blocks assembles museum-quality abstract pieces via random algorithms.

Those who prefer a more human touch might take to the Rocket Factory series by American sculptor Tom Sachs, another familiar name in the fine art world.

NFT art in the Rocket Factory series

As far as local talent goes, there is 8-year-old Arthus Ng, who first seized the social media spotlight with her digital drawings of snakes.

She is joined by Hong Kong artist Felix Ip, whose detailed depictions of the city’s crumbling architecture evoke nostalgia among longtime residents of the ‘Fragrant Harbor.’

Not unlike the traditional world of ‘physical’ fine arts, the metaverse is already said to be gender-skewed towards males, reports Medium. So it’s heartening to see pioneer NFT artists like ZWwanderluster, The French Girl, and Sarah Zucker featured prominently at Metavision.

NFT art titled ‘Women’ by Sarah Zucker

NFT art by The French Girl

Art exhibition aside, Metavision also sees offshoot activities such as artist talks, online workshops for aspiring NFT art creators, guided tours ending with tutorials on how to start one’s own crypto wallet, and Meta Odyssey, an immersive multi-sensory pop-up experience featuring a rhapsody of AR and live lighting effects paired with music.

The ambitious exhibition by K11 Musea proves that NFT art is here to stay, and the world-class art institution is doing its part to create an inclusive ecosystem of NFT art and culture in Hong Kong in the long run.

While the public largely views NFTs as a new category of collectible, those with a deeper knowledge of the metaverse are already exploring its uses in traditional industries such as gaming, technology, fashion, and retail.

Earlier this year, Hong Kong authorities proposed launching a licensing system that regulates crypto exchanges and NFT trading. Meanwhile, in the Chinese mainland, cryptocurrencies have been banned, but the trading of NFTs remains legal on one condition: That related transactions are conducted in the local currency, the yuan.

All image courtesy of K11 Musea
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