LIFE AFTER LIFE: SHHAN ART EXHIBITION

2023.02.21-04.30

Introduction

This is the first exhibition of world-renowned crypto art Mimic Shhans shown in a professional art gallery. Black Cat has more than 40,000 fans on Twitter, nearly 7,000 members on Discord, and currently has more than 1,000 collectors, a considerable number of whom are Chinese, and are mainly living in first-tier cities in China. Crypto art refers to digital artworks that are generated, displayed, traded, and verified on the blockchain networks. The blockchain provides a permanent and tamper-proof record of ownership, making it possible to buy, sell, and trade digital art with the same confidence as physical art. With the rise of Web3.0, the market of crypto art is growing rapidly, and more and more artists and collectors are participating in it.

The artist Seung Hun Han is from Seoul, South Korea, and his English abbreviation is SHHAN. He has been living with a Russian blue cat named Niki for 9 years, and the companionship has brought him inspiration for artistic creation. SHHAN hopes that Niki will survive forever in digital world. Since 2017, he has tried to use software for digital art creation and published it on social media, attracting the attention of many people. In 2020, the metaverse world opened its arms to art creators. SHHAN began to create a variety of works with the topic of black cats, and minted these works into 10k PFP NFT on public blockchain for sale. 10k PFP NFT is the most popular crypto art form in the international market. "10k" represents 10,000 unique series of NFTs. PFP means profile picture, and collectors can use it as their profile pictures on social media. The essence of profile picture is the digital identity of each person, so the blockchain-based PFP artwork is a wonderful carrier that integrates art, technology, and digital social relations.

In addition to the NFT art Mimic Shhans, SHHAN has also created a large number of other digital art works about black cats, and is building his own creative world, the Shhan Universe. The works in this exhibition also reflect his exploration and practice in digital art from various perspectives.

The success of Black Cat is the result of the first time Chinese community-led crypto art movement and community building. It is also a successful case of the revival and embodiment of oriental aesthetics in the metaverse world, which will encourage more Chinese crypto art creator and collector groups to rise and become an important force in the national strategies of Culturally Strong Country and Going Global in Culture.

Text / Tan Liang

artist

Seung Hun Han（SHHAN）

Artist

Shhan is the creator of The Shhan Universe. He lives in Seoul with the Russian blue cat Niki and is said to have started it all for Niki. For reference. Shhan is the name that connects the initials of Shhan’s real name, Seunghun Han and means 山 (Mountain). Also In The Shhan Universe, Shhan is a mysterious creature in the form of a black cat.

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Tan Liang

Curator

Professor of Digital Media Art Program Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art, Supervisor of postgraduate, PhD in Design HKPolyU, Director of Digital Art Technology Atelier. He was a visiting scholar studying coding art in Aix-en-Provence Art College France from 2009 to 2000, following world-renowned artist Douglas Edric Stanley. He published the first coding art book “Processing Interactive Programming Art” in China. His research interests include digital art, interaction design, crypto art. He is also supervisor of postgraduate in interactive media art of Macao University of Science and Technology, PhD supervisor of Krirk University Thailand, visiting professor of Southern University of Science and Technology.