Indigenous Yolngu artists in remote East Arnhem Land are known globally for their award-winning innovative works, drawing connections to land and sea.
And for the first time, they’re venturing into the digital world, with a group of artists making and selling NFTs (non-fungible tokens).
The phenomenon of NFTs has seen billions of dollars flow into the exchange of digital photos, videos and sounds.
When investors pitched the prospect of entering the growing marketplace, Yolngu artist Ishmael Marika, based in Yirrkala, was intrigued.
While some of the world’s best-selling NFTs have been pixelated cartoonish images, the items in Yirrkala are being created by digitising physical works, including drawings and bark paintings.
The individual pieces are photographed using an infrared camera device before being turned into moving digital works.
How do NFTs work?
If you have heard of NFTs but still don’t understand them, you’re not alone.
The digital asset is made using the same technology as cryptocurrency. However, that is where the similarities end.
Cryptocurrency is similar to hard cash in that it is fungible and can be traded for one another. For example, five $1 coins can be exchanged for a $5 note.
NFTs are non-fungible because of the unique digital signature attached to each one when it goes through its authentication process, known as minting.
That authentication is then attached to the digital asset, making it one of a kind.
The digital file can be copied but the unique digital signature cannot.
The technology has created a new form of ownership and a result, a new marketplace.
While NFTs have been around for some years, the world started to take notice last year when a single digital…
