Gusto Collective has created MonoC, a virtual human, who will create an NFT artwork in real-time responding to the bidding process.
Hong Kong-based Gusto Collective, a leading player in immersive customer experiences and high-impact communication products operating within the realms of augmented reality (AR), the metaverse, and NFTs, has announced, in conjunction with Phillips, a first to market collaboration between the international auction house and virtual human, MonoC.
Gusto Collective combines creativity, storytelling, and technology to create immersive customer experiences following the massive growth in the spheres of digital and technological innovation, empowering the creation, production, and sharing of content. MonoC was created by Gusto Collective as an extension of their modus operandi.
MonoC’s generative and data-driven NFT artwork, Drowning in Love, will be sold in an online auction entitled My Kawaii Valentine hosted by Phillips that will open virtually from 9pm HKT on the 14th of February to 6pm HKT on the 22nd of February this year.
This digital artwork will place art collectors and investors at the centre of the creative process. A minimum of 100 thousand data points will be collected live from bidding on all lots in the online auction, driving algorithms designed to render MonoC’s creativity. T-Ma, a generative music composer from Hong Kong, with whom MonoC has collaborated with for this project, has written a piece to complement the work that will unfold as the visual grows. During the seven days of the online auction, Drowning in Love will be able to be viewed as a live tele-cast on Phillips’ website, where those watching can witness the work being rendered as data points are gathered.
According to founder and CEO of Gusto Collective, Aaron Lau, “Together with T-Ma and our team, MonoC creates something unexpected and beautiful out of live data that brings a new interplay between art and technology. She has grown organically in the metaverse from the heart of all we do at Gusto Collective. I am excited to see what innovations her creativity and our cutting-edge technologies will see in the future.”
Driven by this desire for continuous innovation and exploration, Gusto Collective, and their creation MonoC, has partnered with Phillips auction house to not only bring the artwork to the market, but also to explore the full capabilities of digital art to pioneer innovative offerings withing the NFT space. My Kawaii Valentine is a themed auction celebrating love, and Drowning in Love offers the question of companionship, self-appreciation, and sexuality, explored in the nearly fifty works on offer. The algorithmic procedural generation of the work means that how each lot sells during the auction will directly impact the final form of MonoC’s artistic vision, anchored in a dual commentary on the vitality of love compared with it’s more negative sides – obsession, idealisation, and delusion.
Hin Hin Wong, Associate Specialist of 20th Century & Contemporary Art at Phillips said that the auction house “is well-known for being the market pioneer in identifying young artistic talents. We stand by innovation and are excited to offer this original idea, where an NFT is created through auction data for the first time.”
Payment for the NFT will be accepted in Ethereum or Bitcoin, in addition to Hong Kong dollars. The carbon footprint generated by Drowning in Love will be offset by a donation to Agrocortex Forest and Wildlife Conservation in Amazonas, and will be calculated by Offsetra.
Related Articles
Blockchain Art: Everything You Need to Know About NFTs
