Justin Aversano makes a quantum leap for NFT photography – Cointelegraph Magazine

Artist name: justin aversano
Location: The Angels
Minting date of the first NFT: February 15, 2021
What blockchains? Ethereal

Biography:

Unintentionally, the healing process of losing his twin sister at birth launched Justin Aversano's career to become the symbol of NFT photography. His most famous collection, "Twin Flames", has a total sales volume of 5,900 ETH on OpenSea and several million-dollar sales, including one auctioned at Christie's.

A multidisciplinary artist with a keen eye and passion for photography, Aversano's journey into NFTs began with a trip to Peru to work with local shamans to try to overcome addiction and depression. It was on that journey that he began to heal and found a spark that would become the initial idea for his iconic collection.

“I never questioned that he was an artist, but you know the feeling inside when you are dealing with anger, depression, sadness and pain. I was looking to get over the pain and become whole. In San Pedro, there was a ceremony led by twins. It really opened my heart to connect with my twin, who passed away during my mother's pregnancy. It was like opening Pandora's box. I remember thinking, 'Okay, there's something there and I need to work on it.'”

A few months away from San Pedro, Aversano was at an exhibition and photographed a pair of twins who attended his art show. That night, he knew that he was ready to take on this new project that featured the twins.

“I started those twins that night. Then they introduced me to other twins. It became quite the domino effect of connecting with the twins. Understanding the feeling of what it would have been like to have a twin and honoring my twin, and also my mother, because I feel like losing my twin was also a part of losing my mother and her having ovarian cancer,” she says.

“There are so many different elements, and a lot of my art is for my mom, my family, and to honor ancestors. I like it when you work on healing,” shares Aversano.

Despite putting together the Twin Flames project in a traditional sense, including a book and an exhibition highlighting the work, it wasn't until Aversano discovered NFTs that things went wild.

“Another two years passed. I had the Twin Flames project on my website and Instagram, but then I found out about NFTs. I didn't see other photography projects online. I minted Twin Flames, and the next day it sold out, and it changed my life."

Now, just two years after it was first minted, Aversano, who is considered by most to be at the top of the NFT photography food chain, has amassed over 8,100 ETH in sales volume on OpenSea alone.

Aversano also carries the torch for budding photographers who want to focus their creative efforts on the world of NFTs with Quantum Art, a platform focused on curating and launching NFT collections launched in September 2021, with a particular focus on NFT photography.

“With Quantum, I've said this from the beginning: I want it to be what Art Blocks is to generative art. I have a lot of respect for Erick (Snowfro) with what he has done with Art Blocks, and we want the same for photography. There's a lot of respect for generative art, and I can understand that because everyone is a computer native. I would love to see photography reach its peak because it has always been underdog”, says Aversano.

Featured sales:

Twin Flames #49. Alyson and Courtney Aliano: Sold for 888 ETH ($3.7 million at the time) on November 23, 2021, making it the eighth most expensive photograph ever sold. Purchased through PartyBid.

Twin Flames #83. Bahaeh and Farzaneh: sold for $1.1 million on October 6, 2021 at Christie's.

Twin flames #2. Jessica and Joyce Gayo: Sold for 207 ETH ($959,027) on November 10, 2021.

Twin flames #1. Ali and Gilli Glatt: Sold for 200 ETH ($686,696) on September 7, 2021.

influences:

Aversano cites the influence of photographers such as Irving Penn, David LaChapelle, Diane Arbus, Vivian Maier, and Robert Frank, as well as painters such as Alex Gray and Dustin Yellin.

He takes inspiration from all the NFT photographers, but gives special credit to Beeple: "That guy is the biggest influence on everyone!"

Aversano also highlights the influence of prominent NFT personality Gmoney on his rise to NFT stardom.

“In terms of collectors, Gmoney was one of the biggest influences on my life. We talked for a bit and I asked him if he was spending $250,000 on a JPG of a monkey, would he buy real art? He told me that he preferred to buy NFT. He helped me by talking to the Flamingo DAO and the CryptoPunks community. Everyone supported me with my NFT drops,” she says.

Which artist should we pay attention to?

Regarding other artists in the space that catch his eye, Aversano points to IX Shells, a visual and sound artist whose piece Fold was recently acquired by the Buffalo AKG Museum of Art: “She's one of my favorite artists. She is great as a person and as an artist.”

He also mentions Summer Wagner, a photographer based in Rockford, Illinois.

Process and personal style:

Speaking about how his artwork develops over time, Aversano says, “Every project I've been thinking about has been thought of for years. There is nothing that I have created and thought of coining an NFT the next day. I've been working on these big projects for years and it hasn't existed in the art world the way I wanted it to."

“This is the best moment of my life as an artist of this era, for everything I create is an NFT. I see a lot of other artists who have careers older than me, and they're getting into NFTs, and not all of their stuff is on the blockchain. This is the perfect time for me as an artist to have all my art on the blockchain from the start.”

“I often think of coin art like NFTs, like hand printing on ancient scrolls on the blockchain. Bring the past, present and future together in a special way, and you can live in your digital gallery in your own home”, she concludes.