Experimental electronic icon Aphex Twin has auctioned off and sold an NFT of some 3-D animated digital artwork that appears to recreate the performer’s face similarly to how it appears on past cover art and promotional images. This NFT artwork sold for 72 Ethereum coins, which was valued at roughly $128,392.56 at the time of sale.
According to a statement on Twitter, Aphex Twin will be using part of that money to plant trees and donate to permaculture projects, which are approaches to land management and philosophy that adopt arrangements observed in natural ecosystems. If the artist is able to raise enough funds, he will establish a permaculture habitat himself.
We will spend a portion of the money on planting trees and either donating to permaculture projects or setting them up ourselves, depending on how much we get .
— Aphex Twin (@AphexTwin) March 14, 2021
“We will spend a portion of the money on planting trees and either donating to permaculture projects or setting them up ourselves, depending on how much we get,” Aphex Twin wrote on Twitter.
Last fall Aphex Twin posters appeared across the world, in cities like Los Angeles, Berlin, London and Bristol, however a project has not been officially announced. At the time of its appearance, some suggested that the posters teased the producer’s collaboration with Novation, a company that makes music production software and hardware. Last April the IDM pioneer released six new tracks on Soundcloud, “qu 1,” “Tha2 (world scam mix),” “s8v1 [brooklyn],” “tha2,” “prememory100N pt2” and “m11st lon.”
The NFT industry is booming with musical acts, with alternative pop artist Grimes also releasing artwork, which sold for over $5 million. Other performers who released artwork include Taylor Bennett, Big Zuu, Kings of Leon and the estate of MF DOOM have released NFTs.