From sitting in his car crying before work every morning to becoming a successful digital artist, the story of Australian-based VR painter and sculptor Giant Swan is one of persistence, timing and pushing boundaries.
In a world where a digital artist can now monetize their work through NFTs as opposed to cheap likes and comments on Instagram, Giant Swan stands out from the pack, being the first artist to put a 3D object on-chain and for his truly unique and immersive pieces that have captured the attention of collectors all over the globe, including renowned whales such as j1mmy.eth, Moderats Art and Whale Shark.
“For me, crying in the car before work was a lot to do with knowing that you should be somewhere else. I knew I didn’t fit with what I was doing. To be where you suddenly belong, I think, is what every artist is probably striving for in some way,” Giant Swan says.
After minting his first NFT on Nov. 30, 2019, on Known Origin, Giant Swan caught the initial wave of interest in digital art. He credits the likes of David Moore from Known Origin for helping him take the plunge.
Dreamlike states
You can get lost viewing Giant Swan’s art; the depth of his work often needs to be seen to be believed. OG Crypto artist Josie Bellini described it thus:
“When I look at Giant Swan’s work, you can’t stop thinking, and you start to feel a certain way. I can see the blood, sweat and tears. I can see that he’s put his heart in his canvas and the way that every stroke he builds them in VR. They have so much depth and so much emotion to them.”
Giant Swan states, “A really simple goal of my art has always been that I want you to experience it and feel like you had a dream, or you have to describe it like you try to describe a dream.”
To create the art he does via VR, the Melbournian from Australia uses a PC VR headset and gaming rig, but said a basic Meta Quest VR headset could do the job for most people.
“I create art by turning my movement into shapes and color. I do that by wearing a virtual reality headset that places me into an empty void. There’s no roof, there’s no floor, there’s no walls; it’s just endless. That movement can be filled with an endless amount of material shapes, color, density, size, and scale. I feel that until I have a space that I’m happy with,” Giant Swan says.
Generations by Giant Swan (Known Origin)
“From there, I explore that space to see how I can capture a story and share that with other people. I like to make art this way because traditionally, we look at computers of digital art and we judge it by its perfection.”
“It’s the pursuit of perfection we’re hiding or imitating how we look at the world until it’s digital or not. VR art lets us explore imperfection, and in that, it enables a very digital art medium to become one of the most organic digital art forms available. I’d be surprised if you could find someone else who does what I do now.”
Notable sales
Anomaly272 by Giant Swan sold for 15 ETH ($41,423) (SuperRare) Nocturnal by Giant Swan (SuperRare) The Soul of the void by Giant Swan sold for 14.3 ETH ($28,502). (SuperRare)
Rapid-fire Q&A
How would you describe your style as an artist?
“I’d like to think that it’s a balanced emotional take on surrealism in art. Really thrash, almost impressionistic kind of take on 3D art. I love to hit gothic notes and symbolism. I like drawing from a lot of things, but I wouldn’t know how to name it. That’s why it’s Giant Swan style. That’s why people can pick me out in the crowd because you can’t put it in a bin.”
Who are the influences on your art career to date?
“I’ve got lots of influences, but to name a few. Ashley Wood worked on Tank Girl, which is a loose inky comic book style. Also Jamie Hewlett, who does all the imagery behind The Gorillaz and Tank Girl.
“The Gorillaz were an influence on me in that you used to get their CDs and to get all the extra stuff out of it. You had to put it into your PC but they never said that; you just put the CD in, and you’d explore and find all the cool stuff. It was an experience. That really informs how I see my work. Now I want my work to be experienced.”
Is there an up-and-coming artist/s you think people should be paying attention to?
“There’s a Melbourne artist named Mysterious Al. He is a muralist that you’ll probably recognize the moment you Google him. He’s an incredible artist.”
Who is a notable collector of yours that makes you smile knowing they own one of your pieces?
“When I think of people like Pranksy, j1mmy.eth, Josie, Whale Shark, Moderats Art and Deej, it brings a smile. These are all big whales, but they are also entrepreneurs and extremely successful people. They all saw that in me before my works became really expensive.”
What’s your favorite NFT in your wallet that’s not your own NFT?
“My favorite NFT in my wallet is a pair of shoes for Cryptovoxels that n0shot made. It was so early in the crypto art culture we’d all meet up in Cryptovoxels. That was probably the first time sneaker culture really kind of teased its way into the space.”
What’s hot elsewhere in NFT art markets
Notable recent sales from Tyler Hobbs include an Incomplete Control and Fidenza that was sold via Sotheby’s and a pipe Chromie Squiggle that collector DGMD picked up.
Fidenza #943 by Tyler Hobbs sold for $190,500 by Sotheby’s as part of 3AC Grails Sale. (Sotheby’s)Chromie Squiggle #1552 by Snowfro sold for 28 WETH ($47,000). (OpenSea) Incomplete Control #81 by Tyler Hobbs sold for 35 ETH ($58,988). (OpenSea)
OpenSea in royalty race to the bottom
For the majority of 2023, amid a bloodbath for NFT collection prices, the creator royalties discussion has felt like a race to the bottom and OpenSea all but confirmed this with their announcements the marketplace will move to optional creator royalties on secondary sales.
This unpopular decision probably doesn’t come as a surprise, however, with Blur marketplace continuing to dominate market share.
From Aug. 31, OpenSea will sunset the filter it introduced in November 2022 as a response to Blur and other marketplaces allowing collectors and traders to bypass creator royalties. At the height of NFT mania, the issue was heralded as the big game changer in an emerging new creator economy.
OpenSea announcement on royalties (X)
The technology remains the same, but when the market was booming — for most of 2020 through 2022 — paying out creator royalties along with OpenSea’s 2.5% marketplace fee was rarely questioned.
OpenSea CEO and co-founder Devin Finzer said:
“In November 2022, we launched the Operator Filter: a tool designed to give creators more control by restricting the sale of their collections to Web3 marketplaces that enforce creator fees in secondary sales. It was meant to empower creators with greater control over their Web3 business models, but it required the buy-in of everyone in the Web3 ecosystem, and unfortunately that has not happened. So we’re making a few changes to our approach to creator fees.”
There doesn’t seem to be any great solution to be able to enforce royalties without compromising on true decentralized asset ownership, with many having their two cents on the matter, including OpenSea VC backer Mark Cuban, artists Matt Kane and Beeple and NFT influencer Wale Swoosh.
Not collecting and paying royalties on NFT sales is a HUGE mistake by @opensea. It diminished trust in the platform and hurts the industry. And I say this as an @opensea investor @DevinFinzer
Arguably one of the most influential voices also had its say on the OpenSea announcement, with Yuga Labs — the creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club and the owners of CryptoPunks, Otherside, Meebits and many other collections — coming out strongly against OpenSea’s decision.
The statement from CEO Daniel Alegre already has most of the NFT community speculating that a Yuga marketplace will launch as part of the response.
Yuga statement on OpenSea royalties (X)
13-year-old helping disadvantaged kids with Blueberry DAO x Nouns DAO
Evie-Rose – recipient of a new bike with Lilpurpberry. (Variety)
In a heartwarming pocket of the NFT landscape, 13-year-old Lilpurpberry from Brisbane has embarked on a philanthropic initiative in collaboration with Variety children’s charity.
Blueberry DAO, backed by funding from Nouns DAO, was created by Lilpurpberry to build a treasury, including sales of Lilpurpberry’s NFT pixel art. The treasury is to support local children’s charities, and Variety was the first recipient, with funds being channeled to the “Bikes for Kids” program, which delivers brand new bikes and helmets to kids experiencing disadvantage who would otherwise miss out.
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Greg Oakford
Greg Oakford is the co-founder of NFT Fest Australia. A former marketing and communications specialist in the sports world, Greg now focuses his time on running events, creating content and consulting in web3. He is an avid NFT collector and hosts a weekly podcast covering all things NFTs.
Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.
On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.
Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.
Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?
The trial is part of Project Acacia, an initiative from the RBA exploring how digital money and tokenization could support financial markets in Australia.
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed the need for a “new deterrent” to deter small boats crossings in the Channel, Downing Street has said.
The prime minister met Mr Macron this afternoon as part of the French president’s state visit to the UK, which began on Tuesday.
High up the agenda for the two leaders is the need to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel, which Mr Macron said yesterday was a “burden” for both the UK and France.
The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.
Sir Keir is hoping he can reach a deal for a one-in one-out return treaty with France, ahead of the UK-France summit on Thursday, which will involve ministerial teams from both nations.
The deal would see those crossing the Channel illegally sent back to France in exchange for Britain taking in any asylum seeker with a family connection in the UK.
More on Emmanuel Macron
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However, it is understood the deal is still in the balance, with some EU countries unhappy about France and the UK agreeing on a bilateral deal.
French newspaper Le Monde reports that up to 50 small boat migrants could be sent back to France each week, starting from August, as part of an agreement between Sir Keir and Mr Macron.
A statement from Downing Street said: “The prime minister met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street this afternoon.
“They reflected on the state visit of the president so far, agreeing that it had been an important representation of the deep ties between our two countries.
“Moving on to discuss joint working, they shared their desire to deepen our partnership further – from joint leadership in support of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and increasing bilateral trade and investment.”
It added: “The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.
“The prime minister spoke of his government’s toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.
“The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.”
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, seized on the statement to criticise Labour for scrapping the Conservatives’ Rwanda plan, which the Tories claim would have sent asylum seekers “entering the UK illegally” to Rwanda.
He said in an online post: “We had a deterrent ready to go, where every single illegal immigrant arriving over the Channel would be sent to Rwanda.
“But Starmer cancelled this before it had a chance to start.
“Now, a year later, he’s realised he made a massive mistake. That’s why numbers have surged and this year so far has been the worst in history for illegal channel crossings.
“Starmer is weak and incompetent and he’s lost control of our borders.”