Rolling in the Deep
Tatler spoke to Whaleshark, the enigmatic NFT collector, about digital art and whether or not he’s a hoarder
It’s in the name. In the world of NFT art, it doesn’t get much bigger than Whaleshark. The enigmatic collector only started investing in NFT art in 2019, but is already known for having one of the biggest and most valuable collections in the world. At the time of writing, he has acquired 404,227 NFT artworks, but has only sold three of them. Tatler Hong Kong
interviewed Whaleshark for Tatler TV: Meta Versed, a new, weekly online talk show that invites visionaries and leaders in their respective fields to share their thoughts on NFTS, the metaverse and cryptocurrency, and how they are reshaping the luxury sector.
To the delight of artists and collectors hoping to gain some insight into the often confusing world, Whaleshark talked about how he started his collection, how he decides what to add to his “Whale Vault”, how digital artists have changed the landscape of the art world, and how it all affects us and the way we experience art.
“Most people would call me a hoarder,” he joked. “And with more than 400,000 NFTS, it’s a little difficult to refute. However, the difference between a collector and a hoarder is that … all my NFTS are my children; and I know every single one of my 400,000 children. I might be the Genghis Khan of the NFT world!”
He explained that there was a purpose and reason behind every NFT he has bought, and while he doesn’t play favourites, he does have preferences when it comes to collecting art.
“Something that is extremely significant that has not yet been realised by the market is generative art and Ai-based art, which I believe is really [indicative] of our times,” he said. “All of a sudden, we live in this era where human meets machine, and together, through collaboration, we
can make these beautiful masterpieces that reflect that dynamic. When you look at these pieces, it raises the question: who is the creator, and who is the curator?”
When it comes to generative art, Whaleshark highlighted Brendan Dawes as an artist he particularly admired, calling him a “force of nature”.
“The reason I love Brendan is that he uses data that surrounds us around the world and integrates that with custom-built algorithms to generate these wonderful pieces that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also extremely intelligent,” he explained. “He does things that are not possible to do using traditional art methods while, at the same time, integrating the human with the machine.”
Whaleshark collaborated with Dawes on a special project for this episode: the artist created a work called 60 Minutes on the Ethereum Blockchain for the occasion, which he minted and transferred to 50 of the show’s viewers.
Dawes said that at the time of the artwork’s creation, there was an average of 46,196 transactions on the Ethereum blockchain per hour, so each visible “strand” on the work represented one of those transactions and the whole piece became an artistic representation of how the blockchain is thriving.
Dawes also explained that the shape was made using the same algorithm he used in his original work, The Art of
Cybersecurity, a piece that marked an important point in his career. The difference this time was that he’d formed the shape from the word “blockchain”.
On the show, Whaleshark also touched on how the world is changing for artists and collectors, pointing out that the democratisation of art has resulted in people having to wear many hats within the space.
“With all respect to artists around the world, they’ve spent the majority of their lives focused on creation. All of a sudden, when you remove that middle man, the creatives also have to be their own marketers, their own business managers, their own gallerists,” he said. “While I do believe that an artist’s work should speak for itself … artists are going to have to build up their skill set if they want to run their businesses independently. On the plus side, the [commission] of the sale that typically goes to the middle man now goes to them. There are a lot of new skill sets that need to be picked up, but the space has largely been very respectful, and I do believe that everybody feels this is a fresh breath of air.”
A new and evolving world this might be, but prices are definitely not what one might call entrylevel. One of Whaleshark’s most recent acquisitions was the Takashi Murakami + RTFKT Clonex artwork, which he bought for US$1.2 million last December, and doubles as an avatar that can run in the metaverse. A conservative estimate of Whaleshark’s entire NFT collection starts at US$150 million, potentially reaching up to US$250 million, of which the art segment makes up US$110 million to US$150 million.
While Whaleshark said that he does consider the “commercial runway” and long-term viability of a project when he looks into new acquisitions, it’s definitely not all about the money. “I can’t put a price tag on some of the masterpieces I’ve collected since 2019,” he said. “Art is priceless, so buy what you love.”