Traversing the world of non-fungibles is a daunting task. With so many new NFT projects, artists, and large-scale collections cropping up weekly, it has become nearly impossible to keep up with all the new and exciting happenings.
Previously, all that was needed to find the latest NFT craze was a simple browse through OpenSea. But things have changed drastically since the 2021 NFT boom. Now, NFT enthusiasts have to be really mindful of what and where they collect.
To aid in the unearthing of awe-inspiring NFT endeavors both new and old nft now presents Undervalued: a weekly column highlighting innovative projects, collections, and artists pushing the NFT space forward.
Rekt Guy, launched May 21, 2022, is a large-scale PFP project created by influential NFT collector and former Wall Street trader OSF. Centered around a character of OSF’s own creation, the collection embodies crypto/NFT culture and personifies the term “rekt” which has come to mean being utterly destroyed or ruined, especially in the case of loss on investments.
Rekt Guy is a unique entrant into the CC0 sector of the NFT market. While the project offers no roadmap or utility to its holders, similar to CrypToadz or mfers, it’s characterized both as a meme and a symbol of unity within OSF’s community. As influential investor Cozomo de’ Medici and rap icon Snoop Dogg have collected Rekt Guy NFTs, the project has not only taken on life as a status symbol but as a testament to what influencer hype can help bolster a collection.
MegaWobs, launched June 9, 2022, is a large-supply NFT collection hosted on the Solana blockchain. The collection features 3D PFP tokens of Wobblebug, who is said to be the first tokenized musician in history that allows fans to own a piece of a DJ’s career.
Created by Grammy-nominated DJ/Producer Wuki, and fellow music industry veterans Rawtek, JSTJR, and more, Wobblebug first launched as a collection on the Ethereum blockchain but fell short of gaining significant traction. With MegaWobz, Wuki and co. reimagined the Wobblebug character in 3D and reformated what the collection would provide to its collector community.
MegaWobz exists now not only as a unique use case for the reformatting and transformation of an NFT project, but as an innovative endeavor tying together music, utility, and collective ownership, all linked to a virtual space-alien metaverse DJ.
Tigerbob, launched May 28, 2022, is a 1,000-piece handcrafted PFP project created by multidisciplinary Filipino/Black artist/tattooer Gossamer Rozen. As their largest project to date, Tigerbob draws on inspiration, character development, and artistic progression from Rozen over many years.
Beyond living as a unique character-driven PFP project, Tigerbob is also marketed as a brand that lives between Web2 and Web3. The brand’s signature tiger, known as Tigerbob, is one of Rozen’s first tattoo designs and has been iterated as tattoos, illustrations, and sculptures since its creation in 2019.
Characterized by themes of collaboration, philanthropy, and the celebration of identity, Tigerbob gives collectors access to exclusive drops and incentives to come from the burgeoning artist.
SOULS, launched July 13, 2022, is a collection of living interactive works of art created in collaboration between international pop star Sia and renowned visual artist David OReilly. Each NFT in the growing collection is minted with a wide variety of attributes, including name, voice, color pattern, and more, all living together in the SOULS GALAXY, where they can be used to create music voiced by Sia.
Beginning as a series of simple colorful paintings Sia drew more than 15 years ago, SOULS has since grown into an expansive collection of never before seen digital beings said to be built with love and shaped between two friends. SOULS NFTs exist as virtual, interactive objects with varying degrees of rarity that can be displayed individually, downloaded as JPEGS, GLBS, GIFs, and used as real-world augmented reality objects in IOS.
As the collection is continuously growing, the jury is still out on what sort of triumph this project will be for Sia and OReilly. However, it is certainly a unique endeavor among the many celebrity-led projects that have been released since the early 2021 NFT boom.
The Currency, launched July 14, 2021, is the first NFT collection to come from esteemed artist, entrepreneur, and art collector Damien Hirst. Created as a way of reimagining how NFTs can be used, the collection features 10,000 NFTs, which correspond to 10,000 unique physical artworks stored in a secure vault in the U.K.
Starting with the creation of the physical artworks in 2016, Hirst aimed to explore the boundaries of art and currency, specifically commenting on the event of art metamorphizing into a currency, and a currency becoming art. Ultimately, The Currency functions as a real-life “burn mechanism” as it gives collectors who minted an original piece from the collection the choice between keeping their NFT or trading it in for the physical piece. Whichever they choose, the other is burned.
Considering the way in which The Currency seems to perfectly align with crypto and NFT sensibilities, it exists as an interesting use case for traditional artists hoping to become involved in the NFT ecosystem. Similarly, it exemplifies the success that artists can achieve if they align their vision with the state of the NFT market, rather than simply bridging their traditional art onto the blockchain.
