Despite the sharp decline in the non-fungible token market throughout 2022, the NFT created by the young digital artist FEWOOCiOUS for the exclusive collection of singer David Bowie’s estate launched in partnership with OpenSea Market sold 96.5 ETH (approximately $127,000 USD).
Titled “Bowie by FEWOCiOUS,” the NFT presents a 12-second animated audiovisual piece in which a two-meter-high body sculpture displays one of the suits from the singer’s official archives in a splendid setting, whose aesthetic is reminiscent of the artist’s work. The 19-year-old young transgender artist.
“I think it’s really cool that he always wanted to be. And he created the world he wanted to live in. That’s the feeling I’m trying to capture in my art,” FEWOCiOUS sums up in a brief description of his work at OpenSea.
Commissioned by Bowie’s heirs, the collection was launched on September 30 and features 15 pieces created by nine artists who came off the NFT stage in honor of the legacy of the British singer, who passed away in January 2016.
In a joint statement, representatives of the singer and OpenSea said that “Bowie on the Blockchain,” as the collection is titled, “will continue Bowie’s legacy of reshaping the nature of musical performance, supporting digital communities and being passionate about new technologies throughout his career.”
Sold for a much lower price – 7.5 ETH (about $9,750) – the NFT “becoming a legend of the earth” is the creation of a digital deformed artist. The work features a 12-hour clock which runs through six different moments in Bowie’s life and career. The NFT includes an additional physical element – an atomic shaped digital photo frame in which the work is displayed.
Proceeds from the sale of the “Bowie on the Blockchain” NFTs will go to the humanitarian organization CARE, which is Bowie’s widow, former model Iman, a global advocate.
Memories stored on the blockchain
The success of the collection dedicated to the legacy of David Bowie reveals a new trend that has been gaining traction in the NFT market lately.
In July, American rapper Biggie Smalls’ estate released a batch of 3,000 NFTs in partnership with the shop Focus on OneOf Music. Entitled “Sky’s the Limit”, it is a collection of Profile Pictures (PFP) created by Generative Art. Holders of NFTs are also granted posthumous licensing rights to an unreleased track by the rapper.
According to the rapper’s estate, the collection is designed to reward Biggie Smalls fans with unique and exclusive memories, which would be inconceivable without the resources of blockchain technology.
Biggie Smalls isn’t the only artist whose legacy has been immortalized in non-fungible tokens in the OneOf initiative. In December, the market closed an agreement with singer Whitney Houston’s estate to sell an unpublished track in NFT for $1 million USD.
LTD.Inc has released a set of photos of the late Chi Modo. NFTs give their owners the rights to physical prints and digital reproductions of images from artists such as Mary J. Blige, Method Man, and Nas.
America’s biggest pop music icon of all time has also had her memories digitized through non-fungible tokens and blockchain technology. In January, Elvis Presley Enterprises marketed the singer’s stylized wigs and bodysuits at NFTs during an event in the Decentraland metaverse titled “Elvis-On-Chain.”
In Brazil, this new trend has not yet gained momentum. Despite this, singer Elza Soares has been immortalized in one of the NFTs of the charity group Impact Women Charity, commissioned by Doare, a Brazilian fintech company that specializes in fundraising for charitable projects and organizations, as reported by Cointelegraph Brasil.
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