There have been stranger collaborations in the art world, but not many have been as headline-hitting as the newly minted partnership between Queen of Pop Madonna and Beeple. The Like a Virgin singer and the auction record-breaking digital artist have teamed up to create three NFTs (non-fungible tokens), entitled Mother of Creation, which will drop on SuperRare tomorrow, the platform for unique curated NFT works, with a starting price of 0.00035774 ETH ($1).
The project was “a labour of love, a year in the making—both artists partnered to connect to the idea of creation and motherhood as told through this visual medium. The works explore the concept of birth via darkness and light in our modern world,”, according to a press statement. Madonna adds: "I wanted to investigate the concept of creation, not only the way a child enters the world through a woman’s vagina, but also the way an artist gives birth to creativity."
Madonna and Beeple, Mother of Technology, still from NFT video artwork, (2022). Courtesy of the artists
All three works were modelled on a 3D scan of Madonna; Mother of Nature shows a tree sprouting from Madonna’s body while Mother of Technology features a centipede roaming a forest—“The centipede represents technology both the life giving-force and the dangers of it, the juxtaposition of dark and light”—and the poetry of the 13th-century Persian writer Rumi.
All sale proceeds will go towards three non-profits including The Voices of Children Foundation that supports women and children affected by the war in Ukraine since 2015. The other charities are The City of Joy, a community for women survivors of violence in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and Black Mama’s Bail Out in Tennessee.
Ever since Beeple sold an NFT at auction for $69m in March last year (Everyday: The First 5000 Days, 2021), art world commentators have debated whether the phenomenon is here to stay or just a flash in the pan. Yuki Terase, the Hong Kong-based co-founder of the advisory firm Art Intelligence Global told us last year that NFTs “will revolutionise the way we consume, experience and share art, and this new ecosystem will be largely shaped and driven by new players in the market–strongly led by young Asian collectors.” However, regulators also have cryptocurrencies and NFTs in their sights and increased controls will inevitably dampen the frenzy.