Cover Asia's first NFT collaborated art series, Chaos+ is created by Wing Shya and Eric Chou (Photo: Courtesy of Sunny Side Up)

The first-ever collaborative NFT art series in Asia, "Chaos+" is inspired by Hong Kong photographer, Wing Shya's own book, "Chaos" and features a crypto music video

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 cryptocurrency collectables marketplace, OpenSea. Planned for a set of five, the debut launch starts with E1+  with the other releasing over the coming week.

The series takes inspiration from Shya's own 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 which presents NFT artworks of emerging and established artists from Asia, showcasing digital artworks that embody unique and modern aesthetics.

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On his creative process, Chou says, "When I first saw the photographs, music and stories began to form in my head. However, upon receiving the animated images, I realised their messages have changed. I, therefore, redid all the music. It was challenging but immensely satisfying." 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 identity code assigned with blockchain to any digital art such as images, songs or video clips. NTF is tracked on blockchain to provide the owner with proof of ownership, essentially eliminated authorised ownership in the market and making each transaction traceable. This not only enhances the value of collectables but also channels all the revenue to the creators of the works that allows for easy monetisation.

Shya also believes that NFTs act as identity certificates to digital artworks, protecting the owners' rights while Chou thinks that NFT is set to become the focus of the music industry in the future. "The idea of NFT crypto music allows musicians and singers to build a new music ownership database in blockchain, and a fair and open marketplace for the industry," Chou says.

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Tatler Asia
Above Hong Kong photographer Wing Shya (Photo: Courtesy of Sunny Side Up)
Tatler Asia
Above Chinese pop singer Eric Chou (Photo: Courtesy of Sunny Side Up)

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 collectables 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.

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 Wing. "NFT elevates music to a wider and safer terrain. Our job, then, is to create music with greater value," Eric adds.

Find out more details about Chaos+ on the official website.

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