The historical March 2021 sale of a Beeple artwork for US$69 million set speculators ablaze, rushing to purchase this new genre of digitally encrypted assets. The market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), assets tokenized on the blockchain to verify authenticity, is booming yet is an unregulated sphere in the wild west of decentralized finance (DeFi).

Digital designers, creatives and conventional artists are targeting the NFT space. Artists are especially attracted by opportunities to monetize their work outside of the exploitative conventional art world and embracing the 21st-century digital creative economy. Minting, sales platforms and online communities, consequently, have quickly evolved. However, physical infrastructure, a seeming misnomer and adverse to the digital realm requires distinct visions and strategic planning. Unfortunately, until recently, it has remained non-existent.

Southeast Asia's first physical NFT art gallery has opened in Bali. Superlative Gallery, an extensive exhibition and community space in Legian displaying NFT art on large screens opened on Jan. 11. The gallery is one aspect of the supportive infrastructure to develop the Superlative Secret Society (SSS), a community of NFT art enthusiasts and collectors.

The opening was highlighted by a teaser of REPUS, the second series of its NFT art collections, and six days of public discussions. From Jan. 11 to 16, SSS took over Times Square in NYC, with Superlative ads pulsating across big screens to the global audience once every 30 minutes.

Fantastic four: SSS co-founders (from left to right) Faatih Rifqi Muqaffi Adam Adha, Moch Arief Witjaksana and Prasetyo Budiman. (Courtesy of Superlative Secret Society) (Personal Collection/Courtesy of Superlative Secret Society)

Four young Javanese visionaries, Prasetyo Budiman, Arief Wijaksana, Adam Adha and Faatih Rifqi Muqaffi dream of empowering Indonesian creative communities and occupy the SSS hot seat. The SSS road map is a tactical plan to expand their reach in the real world on a global scale and virtually across the Metaverse and NFT space.

Following the phenomenal success of their first NFT art series launched in September 2021, making more than 4600 Ethereum (US$15 million) worth of sales on the OpenSea platform, they financed the first regional NFT art gallery. In addition, the SSS marketing includes pop-up events in Jakarta, New York and the United Kingdom. Strategically located in Bali, SSS aims to capitalize upon the island's international branding power while introducing Indonesian artists to international audiences.

“The objective of Superlative Gallery is to embrace local and international artists while encouraging them within this very sophisticated realm. We envision the gallery as an NFT hub where digital and conventional artists can meet and collaborate,” CEO and cofounder of SSS, Prasetyo Budiman, said.

“Art and creativity in Bali have a rich cultural history and we intend to support the Balinese and help create opportunities for them. Our mantra is, from community to community, from artist to artist.”

SSS NFT art

The SuperlativeSS NFT art series is a collection of 11,110 programmatically generated and distinct avatars, made from more than 220 pieces of hand-drawn artworks by SSS illustrator and cofounder Arief Wijaksana. The multicoloured, fragmented figurations describe avatars that fuse animal, robotic, alien and human features.

An NFT Hub: Superlative Gallery on January 11 with the SuperlativeSS NFT art series. (Courtesy of Superlative Secret Society) (Personal Collection/Courtesy of Superlative Secret Society)

“Drawing has been a hobby since childhood,” said Arief, born in 1989 in Tangerang, who previously worked at a digital agency as an illustrator and motion designer. “My style is more like doodles, lines that connect without breaking. My journey into creating NFT art was trial and error. However, being a part of the SSS team has now allowed me to fulfill my dream of being a professional artist.

“Beyond the financial and ownership advantages of NFTs, one of the most valuable benefits for artists is building relationships and connections. Artists and illustrators can get acquainted with their foreign counterparts and collaborate. In comparison, NFT collectors can acquire useful connections and information about the NFT art scene. In addition, they can learn about current technological developments, especially blockchain technology, Web 3.0 and the metaverse.”

Education

The NFT art space is plagued with hacking, scams, fraud, theft and plagiarism. In addition, there are grey areas, misconstrued ideas and general confusion. Education is essential to assist in the positive development of the space so new enthusiasts and collectors can learn to do their due diligence to understand the market and the collectors in the process of achieving success.

"The digital sphere increasingly negates the need for physical human contact. We believe, however, that real human interaction is essential. It's fundamental to developing strong relationships based on trust," said SSS cofounder and community manager Adam Adha, born in Jakarta in 1998, who has a degree in sociology and a background in digital marketing.

“I oversee the introduction of SSS to a broader audience through social media portals Twitter and Discord. Networking and sharing knowledge about our objectives while introducing new SSS members to NFT projects. Our gallery program is a vital aspect in community building.” 

It's official!: Live projection during the Superlative Gallery opening on January 11 of SSS advertisements at Times Square NYC. (Courtesy of Superlative Secret Society) (Personal Collection/Courtesy of Superlative Secret Society)

Giving Back

“Giving back is mandatory, and we have a policy of social responsibility. Our donations total more than $35,000 to Share The Meal to help fight global hunger, amounting to over 65,000 meals, distributed through the World Food Program African region,” Prasetyo said, born in Kebumen, Central Java, in 1996.

“Bali is the face of Indonesia, while our SSS community of collectors is scattered throughout the world. The SSS founders love everything Bali and are saddened by the dramatic downturn in the economy. We wish to build sustainable infrastructure for the local creative communities and assist in the Bali recovery.”

Superlative Gallery

Jalan Legian No. 99, Kuta, Badung, Bali.