The NFT phenomenon has spread to Bali, and the The Jakarta Post talks with two artists quick to respond to what has been referred to as the crypto art craze. Ida Bagus Ratu Antoni Putra, - Monez - is a Balinese artist and design studio proprietor who has created digital illustrations for 15 years. His clients include Apple, Starbucks and Walt Disney Indonesia. “Piracy and the need to protect my work is one of the main reasons I got into NFTs,” said the Bachelor and Masters of Arts graduate of the Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) Denpasar. In 2018, Monez was embroiled in a publicized plagiarism case when another artist copied his mural in a Denpasar eatery onto walls in two other city restaurants.

"As a designer, I follow changes and trends. I have finally uploaded two crypto artworks, Dream Valley and Circus Clown, one a lighthearted Bali nature-inspired scenario, the latter an intimidating monster beating a drum. It's hard to imagine why people would buy these files. Yet, they buy, not only for good art but also as an investment. The development of NFT offers new hope for digital artists," said Monez, who has an international Instagram following and has exhibited physical artworks in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and the United States.

"NFTs are a phenomenon, because people can sell works at fantastic prices to a whole new market. They are a prevalent topic of discussion in the local design community. There is, however, no legal umbrella in the NFT world. Piracy often occurs, and there are few solutions open to you when your work is online and appears in someone else's screenshot and is then sold as an NFT."

A collage of 5,000 individual images, Everydays — The First 5000 Days by American artist Beeple, has intensified the meteoric rise of NFTs. The first to be sold by a major auction house, Christie's, it changed hands for US$69.4 million on March 11. Beeple is now among the top-three most valuable living artists in any medium, alongside Jeff Koons and David Hockney. This sale represents a landmark vanguard action confirming creatives utilizing peer-to-peer digital platforms may bypass the artworld gatekeepers and raise the financial stakes to dizzy heights.

"Many illustrator friends wish to participate. The terrain, however, is very [new], requiring time to understand through watching YouTube videos and joining forum discussions. I now have an NFT-savvy partner who is responsible for uploading the files and the platform transactions. I provide the artworks," said Monez.

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