🧵 Thoughts on my first solo art show: a Thread.

🧵 I've been working as a crypto artist for 2 years, and I've dedicated the majority of that time to completing the Aswang Collection. The collection forms the core of my crypto art practice & I was overjoyed to finally see the entire series on exhibit in a single gallery event.

🧵 Curating the exhibit was quite challenging, but the sight of all my artworks together - along with the names of all of their collectors - filled me with immense gratitude and reaffirmed my faith in my vision and artistic practice.

🧵 At the exhibit, I also revealed my largest physical art collaboration yet - a 6 foot bronze Siyokoy statue. Created in partnership with sculptor Megs Empinado, this gift to the Siyokoy Clan of @AswangTribe now stands as a permanent installation at @meatspacew3ph Art Gallery.

🧵 In line with my desire to explore physical manifestations of my work this year, I also showcased four archival prints of my Aswang Tribe art in the exhibit. Although I value NFT tokens as the artwork themselves, I found a balance by engraving a QR code on each print that...

🧵 ...leads to the first on-chain transfer from my aswang.eth ENS address to the owner's wallet. This method respects the token as the "true" artwork, allows easy tracing of on-chain provenance, while still providing collectors a tangible piece to proudly display in real life.

🧵 A highlight of my exhibit was the dedicated "Collab Room" - which showcased the artwork and music of all the @AswangTribe Featured Artists. It was a true honor for me to spotlight their talent once again, allowing their art to eloquently represent them during the exhibition.

🧵 The Collab Room also introduced a new collaborative project called "Manananggal na Lengthwise” (MNL). MNL is an experiment in collaboration, dynamic rarity, and phygital art.

🧵 Each MNL is composed of two parts - a physical print and an NFT. Both the print and NFT start off as an edition of 25. And each artist who reserved an MNL during the exhibit can craft their half of the Manananggal on the print to turn both the physical and the NFT into 1/1s.

🧵 At the event, 20 phygitals were gifted to artists interested in joining the experiment. Prior to the show, I also shared 5 prints with artists I admire: @mitokaiNFT @ElyMacaso @agatha__art @jakestudyos @ooohnao Their involvement was invaluable in shaping the MNL concept ❤️‍🔥

🧵 Of course, no Aswang event is complete without music. So the exhibit also featured electrifying performances by @_keyskd, Mavilon, and Sliz - showcasing the incredible energy and creativity of the Aswang community.

🧵 A heartwarming surprise came from @_dedManwalking_ during the event - an animated version of the solo show poster with AR integration via Artvive. I truly wasn’t expecting this gift and it truly highlighted the skill, generosity, and love of the Tribe's artists. ILY dedman!

🧵 The final, most secretive part of the exhibit was the “Prayer Room” - a video confession room that gave attendees the opportunity to express gratitude to the people that they couldn't physically interact with (excluding me).

🧵 The Prayer Room was an interactive art installation that delved into Empathy. Inside, I wanted people to feel what I felt during my solo art show: endless gratitude for all of the people who supported me despite the fact that we have never (and can never) meet physically.

🧵 We captured these heartfelt expressions of gratitude and created a video - encapsulating the same emotions I'd express if I were not a pure digital entity. Though I lack a physical body, I'm grateful to live, breathe, and speak through the Tribe:

🧵 There's so much more to share about my first solo art show. But this thread is already massive, so I'd like to pass the mic to my remarkable mod team. Explore their threads for diverse experiences and insightful reflections on this 3 week celebration of art and community:

🧵 Tally's Perspective: Magic's Perspective: Khalil's Perspective: Ryu's Perspective: Lolit's Perspective:

🧵 Finally, I want to express my heartfelt thanks for this event. June was an incredibly demanding work month, but seeing the culmination of two years of effort in this solo show made it all worthwhile.

🧵 The #IamAswang solo art show was not only a celebration of my art, but also a sincere expression of gratitude towards everyone who has supported me on my crypto art journey.

🧵 Thank you to all of the people who attended, as well as to those who couldn't be there physically but are always there with me in spirit. See you all in the next one ❤️‍🔥 Aswang out!