Podcast:
Project_1138.
In late 2021, British art curator Ben Moore thought it would be a good idea to turn his Art Wars exhibition of Stormtrooper helmets embellished by famous artists, into 1138 NFTs. It wasn’t, for so many reasons. So I made a podcast about it with original Star Wars guests who where also involved in the drop. This is the dark side of NFTs. This is Project_1138.
Building a Rebellion.
Project_1138 is an audio only panellist discussion that forensically dissects the rise and fall of Art Wars NFT. Each episode takes its theme from one word in the titles of the original Star Wars ennealogy. Phantom, Clones, Revenge, Hope etc. Because oddly, I found these topics perfectly relate to each stage of the Art Wars NFT saga. So we dive in with three guests, including one “celebrity” panellist who is preferably connected to both the Star Wars franchise and the NFT project.
Unlimited Power.
The show is a “passion project” where I’ve had complete creative control. From the format to episode research and writing through to guest sourcing and recording. I do all my own editing and distribution, as well as design and build the website and promotional material. It has been an incredibly rewarding way to flex and explore storytelling in a non-commercial setting. The five star reviews are an added bonus.
“⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fantastic podcast! Great storytelling.”
“⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I was absolutely glued to this conversation. Every part of it interests me.”
“⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The nerdiness, the scienciness, the wittiness.. the Empireness. What’s not to love? Best thing I’ve listened to in ages.”
“⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fantastic. Really well put together!”
Putting the Art
into Art Wars.
A slight sidebar here but following a launch plagued by quality issues, the Art Wars NFT Discord had turned toxic, so I began posting my own refined designs directly to the channel. The reaction was astounding. The community went "ape," vocally demanding my work replace some of the poorly executed originals. That’s when the board invited me to help salvage the collection’s integrity. Above is a few of those drafts I developed using a combination of 3D and Photoshop before the project collapsed under legal scrutiny.
Guest Award.
I sort of created a rod for my own back in the very first episode, where I offered up an impromptu, badass seal of approval badge to one of the guests and promised to deliver them the award. In the true spirit of NFTs I ended up making it in 3D and themed it off one of the helmet designs in the Art Wars collection. This Supertrooper tradition continued for every episode which is pretty cool but fiddly work.