Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been gaining traction in the Malaysian art scene of late, with several local artists making international headlines for their artworks. To get the unacquainted up to speed, an NFT is a digital certificate that represents an asset, such as art, music, videos, in-game items, and so on (you can read our 101 here).
In the past few months, Malaysia has seen the launch of its first-ever Crypto Art Week (CAWA Malaysia), an NFT marketplace named Pentas, and millions of ringgit worth of NFT sales. The variety of NFTs we’re seeing from local artists span from 3D animated worlds to internet memes to stunning illustrations of our culture and heritage.
For a glimpse inside the Malaysian NFT landscape, here are five Malaysian NFT artists and their most impressive digital artworks to know about.
Katun
Earlier last week, Malaysian graffiti artist Katun (Abdul Hafiz Abdul Rahman) made waves in the local art scene when he sold two of his NFT collections for 127.6 ETH or approximately a whopping RM1.6 million in just 24 hours. He is also the first artist to launch an NFT on the cryptocurrency platform, Superfarm, which is co-founded by famous YouTuber elliotrades.
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Katun’s debut appearance in the NFT world included two releases, namely “Apes Stand Strong” and “Mystical Fruits”. The former is a limited-edition of 50 mints, which sold out in record time of 30 minutes; whereas the latter is an open edition of 776 pieces, which sold out in 24 hours. The artist’s total earnings from both collections makes it the most expensive batch of NFTs sold in one release by a Malaysian artist!
Check out Katun’s artwork on SuperFarm or follow him on Instagram @katun_ for more updates.
Red Hong Yi
Red Hong Yi is no stranger to the world of contemporary art, known for using everyday objects and materials to create larger-than-life art installations. Calling herself “that artist who paints without a paintbrush”, Red entered the NFT space in June with her take on one of the most iconic memes of this generation: Doge, the Shiba Inu. Titled Doge to the Moon, it was the first NFT from her Meme Banknotes Series, which comprises six spoofed banknotes from different countries.
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Her inaugural NFT is based on the Chinese Yuan—a nod to China being the first in history to issue paper money during the Song Dynasty. It was minted and auctioned on the Binance NFT Marketplace for two weeks, with a top bid of 36.3 ETH, or roughly a little over RM320,000. The bidder “Anonymous_2la3” is now the proud owner of the NFT, as well as the physical copper plate and the printed banknote on silk.
Check out Red’s artwork on Binance or follow her on Instagram @redhongyi for more updates.
Ronald Ong
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