Eric Chou (周興哲) x Wing Shya (夏永康) Makes History with Debut NFT Collection.
Eric Chou says, “NFT brings music to a greater and safer space for art.”
Wing Shya says, “It has opened a new door for the world of art.”
(13th April 2021, Hong Kong)
Table of Contents
CHAOS+
Hong Kong photographer Wing Shya, best known for collaborating with Wong Kar-wai, and Chinese pop singer Eric Chou, have joined hands to release Asia’s first-ever collaborative NFT art series titled, CHAOS+, on collectible marketplace OpenSea. Debuting with +E1, a one-of-one piece digital music-artwork from the CHAOS+ NFT collection.
The rarity of the collaborative artwork combined with the fact that it’s the duo’s first foray into the NFT market has made +E1 a huge success.
The series takes inspiration from Wing Shya’s photography book, CHAOS, which was co-released with renowned Japanese graphic designer, Tsuguya Inoue last year. With this new project, Shya hopes to perpetuate the spirit of CHAOS through fusing different forms of art. Chou and Shya share an interest in both photography and NFT, jumpstarting this collaboration. From CHAOS, Chou selected five photographs, which were then animated by local visual artists and annotated with music by Chou himself to form a unique story.
The release of the CHAOS+ NFT pieces is coordinated by Sunny Side Up, a creative agency under Sun Entertainment Group that presents NFT artworks of emerging and established artists from Asia, showcasing digital artworks that embody unique and modern aesthetics. This project is supported by Orichal as the technical advisor.
Link to OpenSea: https://opensea.io/collection/chaosplus
Link to Teaser: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNiBPmsjuzp/?igshid=uqik9nhvg8rn
High res images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UlPEogkt64DN19QjgVXoCVXSXx-rVbEQ?usp=sharing
“When I first saw the photographs by Wing, music and stories began to conceptualize in my head. However, upon receiving the animated images, I realized their messages have changed. I, therefore, redid all the music. It was challenging but immensely satisfying,” Chou says when commenting on his creative process.
Shya and Chou are on the same page in their creative decisions. “The process of creating is always an evaluation of oneself. Every change denotes new feelings and emotions. With Eric’s participation this time, the photographs were given new souls. Therefore, the five works in CHAOS+ are named +E, meaning ‘given by Eric” and interestingly resembling a math equation,” says Shya.
NFT creations have been buzzing recently with well-known Japanese contemporary artist, Takashi Murakami also embracing the new art craze. An NFT (Non-Fungible Token) is a unique, identifiable digital asset assigned on the blockchain to any digital art such as images, songs, or video clips. NFT is tracked on blockchain to provide the owner with proof of permanent ownership, essentially eliminating unauthorized ownership in the market and making each transaction traceable. This not only enhances the value of the collection and also channels future revenue to the creators of the works, improving the existing monetization model
Shya expresses that NFTs act as identity certificates to digital artworks, protecting the owners’ rights. Chou thinks that NFT would become the focus of the music industry in the future. “The idea of NFT-based music allows musicians and singers to build a new music ownership database on the blockchain and a fair and open marketplace for the industry,” Chou says.
While NFT is shaking up the art world, they are usually created solo while Shya and Chou chose to do a crossover. “We can see a lot of unique collectibles on crypto art marketplaces, but it feels like everyone is living in their own rooms. Shall we find a new door and take steps beyond the existing NFTs? Collaboration may take things to a new level. So I came up with the idea of working with artists from different sectors, to see what sort of chemistry it could bring,” Shya says.
The two have nothing but praises to say for each other. “I have always admired Mr. Shya’s work. As a fan of photography, I have learned so much in the process. It even allowed me to create music with a new perspective,” Chou says.
Chou adds, “I have always admired Mr. Shya’s work. Once by chance, I met the organizer of his exhibition CHAOSin Hong Kong, and they offered me an opportunity to work with him on this NFT project. As a fan of photography, I have learned so much in the process. It even allowed me to create music with a new perspective.
With cryptocurrency being on the rise, NFT art is also developing at an astonishing speed. But to both Shya and Chou, being true to their art still matters. “Technology allows new means of creation but I often remind myself not to cater for new trends at the expense of the core value of art,” says Shya. “NFT elevates music to a wider and safer terrain. Our job, then, is to create music with greater value,” Chou adds.
Wing Shya says that the collaboration with Chou on CHAOS+ is just a start. More surprises in relation to the book are coming. Eric Chou expresses that the project inspired him to think about different possibilities in creating art, and he might produce more NFTs in the future, looking forward to exploring fusion with stage performance.
Find out more details about CHAO+ on the official website.
NFTs have the Potential to Revolutionize the Entertainment Industry
Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies have seen a rise in popularity in recent years — with applications of Bitcoin and Ethereum becoming more widely accepted. Non-fungible tokens emerge now as a promising and unique form of digital assets that have the potential to change the industry to benefit creators and artists.
NFTs are blockchain-based digital tokens that people can purchase to ‘own’ digital creations, and are stored in the blockchain but are unique in that they are never the same. The material of an NFT can range from images, works of art and GIFs, to Tweets, music, and even physical items. With the digital aspect of an NFT, physical deterioration does not occur, and ownership of items is kept via a digital ledger blockchain.
The Future
NFT’s have the potential to completely transform the way that the entertainment industry works, putting the power into the hands of the creators. Allowing artists to engage with their community directly, opening a new avenue for communication between artists and their fans.
“NFTs will lead the way on our next phase of blockchain adoption and can revolutionize the entertainment and social media industries,” claims Scottie Siu of Orichal Dynamics, incubator behind the NFT social platform — 1O1.
“Artists have the ability to provide exclusive creative content, customized works, as well as to share information about their creative process with anyone. More importantly, artists can collaborate with other artists and brands, and engage with their fan-base through NFTs,” says Alex Dong of Sunny Side Up.
As the music industry shifts and continues to rely on streaming services and alternative forms of revenue, NFTs can technologically advance the current industry’s revenue model and social engagement landscape.
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About CHAOS
Released last year, the photo book CHAOS is a crossover by Wing Shya and the well-known Japanese graphic designer Tsuguya Inoue. It collected Shya’s photographs over the past 30 years, including stills from movies, fashion magazines, and some unpublished pieces. It also included snapshots of several celebrities such as Zhou Xun, Daniel Wu, Michelle Yeoh, etc. All 300 issues of the limited edition were sold out after its release in November last year.
About Artists
Wing Shya 夏永康
Wing Shya is a Hong Kong-based photographer who works in fashion, film and art. Wing Shya founded the award-winning design studio, Shya-la-la Workshop, after graduating from Emily Carr Institute in Canada. Shya ventured into Still Photography when he started working for Wong Kar-Wai in 1997, for his renowned movies Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, 2046, and Eros. Shya is also a recognised director, who has directed several music videos, TV commercials, as well as film Hot Summer Days. In 2006, Shya was the first non-Japanese photographer invited by Mori Art Museum, Tokyo to have his solo exhibition “Distraction/Attraction”.
Website: http://www.wingshya.com/
Eric Chou 周興哲
Eric Chou is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter who has more than 1 million followers on Instagram. Chou has been dubbed by the Taiwanese media as “king of the lovelorn people” for his ballads such as “How Have You Been” and “Let’s Not Be Friends In The Future”. Chou has released one EP and five studio albums so far and his third studio album, “The Chaos After You” was released on 15 December 2017, which consists of 10 tracks. Chou won the 12th and 14th KKBOX Music Awards in 2017 and 2019 respectively as the Artist of the Year.
About Sunny Side Up
Sunny Side Up is an agency for NFT digital art pieces. It develops a broader prospect and a farsighted space for Chinese and international creative culture sectors. It aims to be the axis of connecting art and artists from different fields such as movies, music, animation, visual art, etc. The creative items can be widely spread around with the promotions launched globally online in the NFT technology world. Artists can be protected by the NFT technology and further their steps on exploring possibilities. This is Sunny Side Up’s first issue of NFT digital art, with Orichal Dynamics “1O1” as the technical advisor.
Sunny Side Up now focuses on local artist development and coordination. In the future, it will facilitate collaborations between different types of top Asian artists and launch different kinds of products. Also, it will propel both cloud VR art exhibitions and on-site art exhibitions. New ideas will be infused into the Asian entertainment and art creative cultures. New sustainable development concepts will also be created.
About Orichal Dynamics “1O1”
Orichal Dynamics is a blockchain-focused tech company striving to push forward the industry and help navigate for the future supported by the team’s strong passion and expertise on blockchain technology, strategy, and solid network globally. The company has provided blockchain consultancy services to corporations worldwide who wish to implement distributed ledger technology or utilize smart contracts for their business.
1O1 is an NFT-focused social community platform. It is a new marketplace and social media platform focused on the surging world of NFTs. The platform aims to transform the future of social media, whereby all NFTs would have a community to live in and be displayed while users can interact with them — enabling NFTs also to represent social connections, access to content, and engagement between artists, influencers content providers, and their fans and with one another.