Queen of Crypto
Discussing NFTs with Unus Safardiar
By Michael Taylor
Unus Safardiar began his professional career in 1994 as an architect, contributing to interior and exterior design for several structures on a large project in Moscow City. His deep interest in art and culture – which he credits to his upbringing in Samarkand, Uzbekistan and to his time at the Russian Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg – led him to introduce elements of modern and contemporary sculpture into the mainstream architecture he delivered in his early years.
From 1996 to 1999, his work shifted to focus on performance art. He staged “Diamond Age” at Union Chapel in London and “Three Tons of Food in One Go” in Shoreditch. “Three Tons…” was a mixed genre piece in which a feast, prepared by 40 chefs, was consumed by over 1000 visitors. The leftovers were encapsulated by Safardiar within a thick layer of acrylic, transforming them into a sculpture. The event was lauded by The Guardian as: “The best performance of the year”.
Safardiar attributes this transition, from architecture to performance art, to his desire for creative freedom. And, in the years that have followed, Safardiar would transition again from performance art to sculpture. In 2007, Safardiar produced “The Conquest of Siberia”, which remains his largest free-standing sculpture to date. It was commissioned by the city of Novosibirsk, the capital of the Siberian region of Russia. In 2012, he had two major exhibitions in London: “Lens” was exhibited by Sotheby's at Chatsworth House and “Gate for Multiple Dimensions and Rubies” was exhibited in Regents Park.
This year, Safardiar makes another transition into the world of digital art on the blockchain, offering his first NFT on the exclusive platform Foundation. The piece he will mint and make available for auction on April 15, 2021 is called “Queen of Crypto”. It is a collaboration with Eleesa Dadiani, a conspicuous gallery owner who has been listed by various media outlets as the queen of crypto herself. This digital artwork is the first installment of a much larger project entitled “Maturation”.
We spoke with Safardiar in his London studio in the week leading up to his NFT launch, discussing technology, art, and the opportunities that lie ahead thanks to NFTs.
Venus by Unus Safardiar
Michael Taylor: How were you first exposed to NFTs and did you see an immediate opportunity?
Unus Safardiar: I was introduced to NFTs by colleagues in the art world and was immediately fascinated. But, it took me some time to reconcile how to work with the technology in a meaningful way. We cannot yet know how the space will develop, but I believe the technology represents a really exciting and interesting opportunity for artists in all disciplines.
MT: Tell me about the NFT’s that you will be minting?
US: I am just completing my debut NFT called “Queen of Crypto”, it consists of three separate videos extracted from my larger digital video project “Maturation”. These videos are layered in a way that has never been seen or exhibited before. This piece is certainly the first that I have made available for purchase with cryptocurrency. But, it is also one of very few pieces that are accessible to collectors because of the scale and medium of my body of work.
MT: How will your NFTs relate to the physical/sculptural work that you do?
US: Most of my art does transcend between digital and physical realms. This approach allows the viewer to explore common themes through my digital installations and physical works. For example, the mechanistic forms that I use in many of my sculptures are often brought to life in video. This forthcoming series, despite being digital in medium, reveals evidence of the artist’s hand. It reinforces the freedom and lack of boundaries that the artist has when working with digital mediums.
MT: What makes “Queen of Crypto” an interesting investment for an NFT collector?
US: To own a conventional work of art, a collector must put in a lot of effort, managing insurance, accommodation, storage, restoration, logistics, etc. When it comes to digital art, collectors have a lot of advantages: they can own a new masterpiece at the click of a button, within only seconds. The collector can easily accommodate the artwork and avoid significant expenses over its lifetime. With NFTs there are additional benefits because the piece can be resold easily with appreciation immediately realized. My sculptures and performance pieces, as I mentioned, require established collectors. But I think that ownership of my digital works through NFTs will make some of my pieces more accessible and contribute to the overall value of all my pieces held by collectors.
MT: How do you think NFTs will influence the art world?
US: In addition to benefits for collectors I described above, NFTs will certainly also create a massive field of opportunity for the new types of artists emerging. They allow their creators to go beyond the existing parameters of the traditional art market, by almost directly connecting the artist with the collector. In this way, NFTs grant everyone an equal opportunity. Their release and the secondary market that is forming around them appear to be much more democratic than the traditional art market. They neglect the status of the buyer, and even the seller. Marketplaces like Foundation create a space where individuals that create, and audiences that see value in those creations can be connected.
MT: Thematically, your work has consistently addressed technology and its representation. How important are experimenting with new technologies for your work?
US: Emerging technology has impacted my work greatly and the introduction of new technologies, in practical terms, has helped me to introduce surreal experiences to viewers. For example, I am currently working on an installation called “Oracle”. The physical work is a three-sided abstraction that will float above the ground by magnetic levitation. Each side will feature a head animated using AI, programmed to communicate with the viewer and even exhibit traits such as the ability to learn.
MT: Will NFTs become an important part of your artistic practice?
US: I am working on integrating NFT’s conceptually into my ongoing work. For example, I recently completed a very large sculpture project for the largest building in Europe: The Federation Tower in Moscow. This piece, called “Capsula”, is from my series “Search for Immortality”, for which it was prototyped in digital format. The relationship between physical and digital in process, critical perspective, and thematic focus will present a lot of opportunity to create meaningful, and valuable, NFTs in the future.
Bios
Unus Safardiar is an artist based in London. His first NFT is available now at www.foundation.app.
