Award-winning artist Kristel Bechara became the first Arab female from the UAE and Middle East to launch an NFT tokenised art series – and two pieces have been sold, each in under 24 hours.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) transform digital works of art and other collectibles into unique verifiable assets that can be traded through blockchain technology.
Dubai-based Bechara’s first piece, Satochi Nakamoto, was listed in the Beauty in Diversity & DeFi collection on Foundation.App. Less than 24 hours later, it had been snapped up by what was described in a statement as “a renowned NFT collector”, who paid 1.10 ETH ($1,950) for the work.
A second piece, Byzantine General’s Shield, was similarly quick to sell and was purchased for 3 ETH ($5,324) by the same collector who had previously bought Kevin Roose’s New York Times NFT article for 350 ETH ($600,000).
Byzantine General’s Shield
Her latest piece, called FOMO, is also up for grabs and can be purchased on the platform Foundation.App.
The statement said: “This artwork is a representation of the state of FOMO, and how significant the invention of cryptocurrency and DeFi is and by not adopting or embracing this technology right now, collectors will not just have the fear of missing out but they will actually miss out on the opportunity of being a part of the future.”
NFTs have been thrust into the spotlight following the sale of a collage of images by digital artist Beeple for $69.3 million last week at Christie’s auction house.
Bechara, who has a studio on Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road, has recently opened her first gallery in Dubai International Financial Centre’s Gate Avenue with a new collection called Psychomachia.
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