’Tis the season to wave your flags and take in the fireworks and fighter jets. National Day is here again, and, this year, Singapore is ushering in her 57th year of independence. It’s in this celebratory context that two firms, Trampolene and INTERLUNAR, have linked arms to release chasing mén 1965, an NFT inspired by the legacy of Singapore’s heritage, on August 9.
Trampolene (a research and technology non-profit spin-off of A*STAR incepted to address the concerns of and assist the underprivileged) and INTERLUNAR (a digital transformation and innovation startup keenly focused on making inroads in the charity, non-profit, and educational worlds) have, in the NFT, merged history, art and commerce in ways that are legitimately spellbinding and poignant. And it’s a national first.
Composed of a mosaic of 1,965 images of ornate doors discovered throughout Singapore, the collective artwork is also fully collaborative. The team of photographers responsible for gathering the images traversed 986 kilometres around the country, immortalising the stories behind each portal throughout Singapore’s five geographic zones, North, Northeast, Central, East and West.
Buyers will also be able to segment the artwork into smaller pieces for reselling and gifting, taking the discourse on the importance of foregrounding Singapore’s heritage in the national consciousness to deeper, more visible levels. In the longterm, the project is envisioned to be a site of continual renewal; ownership of chasing mén 1965 is a seat at the forefront of the endeavour to perpetuate and preserve the stories that underpin and define our history.
chasing mén will list on the global NFT marketplace OpenSea on National Day, August 9, with a start price of 0.057 Ethereum over six weeks, till September 23. Twelve percent of the net profits of its sale will be channelled to Trampolene’s ongoing efforts to ameliorate the circumstances of the economically and socially disenfranchised.
If you’re interested in the NFT frontier and/or how Singapore’s history can be meaningfully celebrated in art, keep an eye out for this.
Visit chasing mén for more information.
