IT USED TO BE WIRED
Made 2018

Crypto Art Collection

Very few early VESA works from the 2017-2019 period on the Bitcoin movement are minted as digital originals despite him being in this space full time for nearly 7 years now. It Used To Be Wired is a tribute to the likes of Nick Spanos, who pioneered the early NY crypto scene, and had to eventually leave the land of the free not being so free after all. The work is made via painting, photography and digital collaging over multiple days.

In this art piece the iconic NY island skyline is transformed by blockchain code, but this time Philippe Petit is not walking in between the WTC buildings as the man on a wire. He is walking from the Freedom Tower to the digital unknown. There are many blockchain ventures in the city, but many are moving out of NY and the United States due to a lack of entrepreneurial support. The question remains: "Will New York keep its pioneering spirit or drive out the future of finance?"

When conceptualising this piece in 2018 VESA first thought about the lasting frontier spirit of New York, the artists who have lived there and pioneering moves in Bitcoin really starting from a humble transatlantic pizza transaction. No matter what you think about 9/11 a part of its ghost is inescapably linked to the 2008 financial meltdown and the birth of digital currency. Knowing what we know now, most people in crypto try to avoid doing any business in the US, as it is among the most restrictive countries in the world to be involved with.

2023 teaser trailer ⤴️
Longer version with voice over here

VESA is a multi-award winning digital art pioneer with 15 years of experience. He is among the first five fine artists to start making crypto art & NFTs in 2017. He is considered to be a leading artist building the web3 fine art realm, winning the NFT Artist of the Year from AIBC Summit (2023) top Web3 Artists award from L’Officiel Arabia and World NFT artist Award in Korea (both 2022). His last museum show was at the Museum of the Future in Dubai.

In 2013, his digital art project with actress Veena Malik reached around 300M people, with critical acclaim. He is also the founder of VESA Digital LLC, a company in Dubai focusing on holistic physical & digital art experiences. VESA is currently working with “The Great Hack” Netflix documentary star Brittany Kaiser for a web3 art project, and a commission piece for Crypto(dot)com.

His art has been collected by hedge funds, exchanges, CEO's and influencers. Among them are Charles Hoskinson, Charlie Lee, Dr Marwan Al Zarouni, H.E Amna Fikri, Mondoir, Saeed Al Darmaki, Colborn, Tone Vays, Coach K, Willy Woo, and many others.