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Indonesian NFT artists stick with digital art form despite naysayers
Indonesian NFT artists defy the pessimism of skeptics and naysayers who predict the cryptocurrency phenomenon as a trend or bubble.
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International recognition: An NFT creation titled 'Galan’s Hunger' by Arya Mularama was exhibited at Singapore Art Week early this year. (Courtesy of Arya Mularama) (Courtesy of Arya Mularama/Courtesy of Arya Mularama)
I
ndonesian NFT artists defy the pessimism of naysayers who believe the cryptocurrency phenomenon is just a trend or entering a bubble.
For Indonesian non-fungible token (NFT) artist and Tezos blockchain stalwart Arya Mularama, the future continues to look bright, despite the detractors of the cryptocurrency-driven phenomenon.
“More Indonesian artists are entering the [global] NFT art community, as the NFT art scene in Europe, the United States and Asia continue to grow. While Ghozali might be seen as the most famous NFT artist of all, he is but one of many Indonesian artists [using the medium],” said Arya, referring to local NFT artist Ghozali, whose creation Ghozali Everyday was sold for Rp. 3.1 trillion (US$216 million) in January.
The sale of Gozhali’s self-portrait, which evoked Andy Warhol’s pop art works the Marilyn Diptych and Campbell’s Soup Cans, backed Arya’s assertion that high demand for NFTs kept the digital art form a viable commodity.
Heady days
Indonesia’s NFT boom is caused by strident crypto trading, which shows no signs of slowing down. Bloomberg, citing figures from Indonesian commodities futures trading agency Bappebti, noted that in 2021 “11 million [Indonesian] market participants [were] conducting US$60 billion worth of transactions.”
