Farizwan Fajari

The visual artist, better known as Speak Cryptic, on minting NFTS and making art accessible

You may have seen some of his art installations or murals around town over the years, at the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Artscience Museum and National Gallery of Singapore. Farizwan Fajari, better known as Speak Cryptic, has shown his works in solo shows as well as group exhibitions and biennales in Singapore and around the world.

In his art, Farizwan draws inspiration from his roots as a Singaporean Malay of Baweanese descent and his fascination with punk culture and underground music. The results are often blackand-white illustrations or sculptures of people and environments that are playful, gritty and dark, sometimes all at the same time.

During the pandemic, he also started producing digital art as non-fungible tokens (NFTS). He has sold at least two NFTS and is working on a new series, along with physical art, which will explore the idea of weight, movement, migration and identity. His plan is to also showcase these pieces in a solo show in Paris, with a virtual extension. He shares the lessons learnt from minting NFTS and how he wants to make art accessible.

I want my art to be accessible to all.

The reputation of fine arts is that it’s a club with high barriers to entry, which might be true for some. For me, I want the work that I do to be a gateway for people who would like to engage with art without feeling intimidated.

I like to jump into a situation with both feet to really learn.

That’s what I did with NFTS; the learning curve was steep, but I spent a few weeks doing some hardcore research before I decided to mint.

NFTS have the potential to revolutionise how we buy and trade not only art, but other objects in the future.

We’re still in the early days with NFTS, but I believe they’re here to stay.

Success is being able to do what I love for the rest of my life.

For me, the greatest fear in life would be to have regrets.

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