Osinachi (Prince Jacon Osinachi Igwe) was born and raised in the city of Aba, Nigeria. He started experimenting with digital images when his father introduced him to the computer at a cybercafé at the age of 15. By late 2017, he was selling NFTs using blockchain, and in 2018, he was the first African to showcase work at the Ethereal Conference in New York. Today, Osinachi, as Africa’s first and foremost crypto artist and the first African artist to sell an NFT in a public auction, enjoys challenging himself to see what he can achieve with a program most artists consider extremely limited, Microsoft Word. Aesthetically and procedurally, Osinachi’s art explores how individuals utilize their visible existence as a form of protest—either through what they wear, the paraphernalia they adorn themselves with, or their simple existence in a form and space society looks down on—to advocate for freedom of identity. Osinachi’s figurative portraits mirror his experiences as an African man in today’s world, while simultaneously calling on traditional, historical works from artists like David Hockney, whose work Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) (1972) inspired his series Different Shades of Water (2021). For Osinachi’s pool works, the idea of leisure is prominent, but what is perhaps more pertinent is the idea of leisure centered around the Black body. One can talk about the history of racial segregation in public swimming pools, even to this day, Black swimmers are still hugely underrepresented in water sports. Beyond that, the work plays with a history of leisure painting—starting with Georges Seurat (1859–1891) and exploding with the Impressionists—a style mostly focused on the White body. Instead, this series suggests the growth of a Black middle class, particularly in Nigeria, and a reinserting of the Black body into these art-historical fields—to be seen and admired, not just as a means of recollection, but also aspiration.
- DARIA BORISOVA , CURATOR AND ART ADVISOR
Robert Alice's On NFTs is the first major art historical survey text on the most compelling, disruptive area of contemporary art today. A rigorous and critical examination of all facets of the NFT ecosystem. On NFTs takes a multidimensional, artist-led approach, leaving its readers with a richer understanding of a topic often shrouded in misconception and pixelated mystery.
Accompanying the 10 essays, On NFTs presented a co-curated survey of 101 key practices working in NFTs today. With each profile uniquely authored by handpicked experts, including curators, critics, artists, and AI. On NFTs embraces a diverse and global voice to navigate this borderless movement. Perfect for both natives and newcomers, On NFTs features an extensive glossary of key terms, and a comprehensive exhibition history and timeline of the digital art canon.
The book, presented in TASCHEN's iconic grand-scale BABY SUMO format and housed in a bespoke aluminum book covering, presents a wide range of essential information to those both new or experiences with the modern medium. medium. Featuring 10 essays from the world’s leading voices in art and blockchain, including Hans Ulrich Obrist, On NFTs is a book that celebrates unlikely and thought-provoking connections from across art history. Expect illustrations of Rembrandt paintings alongside CryptoPunk avatars, extensive essays explaining the nitty-gritty world of NFTs- including Sol LeWitt’s influence on today’s artistic algorithms-as well as behind-the-scenes access to the creative processes of pioneering artists from Beeple and Emily Xie to Snowfro and Refik Anadol.
Available with On NFTs are four distinctive Art Edition NFTs and accompanying signed prints from artists Osinachi, Refik Anadol, Dmitri Cherniak and Sofia Crespo. A new frontier for TASCHEN, these Art Editions feature the very first NFTs released by the publisher, making the On NFTs Art Editions the ultimate collector's item.