{"id":15126,"date":"2023-06-29T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nftportal.se\/?p=15126"},"modified":"2023-06-29T09:06:39","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T09:06:39","slug":"intervju-med-nft-artisten-linda-dounia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nftportal.se\/en\/interviews\/interview-with-nft-artist-linda-dounia\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with NFT artist Linda Dounia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meet Linda Dounia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n


Linda Dounia, a Senegal based artist, designer, and curator, focuses on connecting the immaterial and material. She examines technology's impact on inequality and envisions sustainable, decolonized futures. Using various mediums like acrylic, ink, pastels, and digital tools, her work has been displayed at notable events worldwide. Linda founded CyberBaat, a collective of African artists seeking fair representation in the digital art space. Linda minted her first NFT in April 2021 and reached an all-time high on primary in August 2021, selling her piece \u2018No-Content-Error\u2019 for 2.5 ETH on Foundation<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No-Content-Error, created by Linda Dounia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Could you tell us about your story and how you got introduced to the NFT space?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I had been a visual designer for nearly a decade making art during my off-time. It got to a point where I couldn\u2019t be bothered about a client\u2019s needs on a project and just wanted space to explore form for its own sake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I decided to look for ways I could make the leap into professionalizing as an artist and found that since I hadn\u2019t attended art school and didn\u2019t have an established network in the traditional art world, residencies were probably my best bet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While looking for and applying for residencies, a friend of mine told me about NFTs<\/a> \u2013 at first, the idea was to build a small market while waiting to be accepted in a residency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I learned about the technology and its accessibility for people with my background, I decided to invest myself fully in NFTs as a means to share my work with the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What inspired you to start creating NFTs?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the most attractive features of NFTs is the ability to retain ownership over my work and continue to profit from secondary sales through the smart contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second feature I have come to enjoy is the ability to shape how and how often I interact with the world \u2013 as an introvert with social anxiety, the idea of socializing being an integral part of an art career was frightening to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also like that I can provide collectors with proof of provenance through the smart contract, and can retain ownership and profit from my work in an automated way. I have agency over how my work is sold and who it is sold to. As an artist who happens to be black, African, and a woman, this is revolutionary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The relative absence of middlemen in the NFT space means fewer gatekeepers, which means I am more visible in the NFT space than I would have been in the traditional art market (or at least it would have taken me much longer to get to where I am in my career). It also means I retain the bulk of my earnings in perpetuity, which is almost unheard of for someone like me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was the first NFT you created?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first NFT I created on the Ethereum blockchain, which was minted on OpenSea on April 3, 2021, is 'How White Men Started The Apocalypse'. It never went up for sale and I don't think I will ever sell it. I am attached to it because it was my first time connecting a crypto wallet<\/a> to a blockchain and signing a transaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So many incredible things have happened since then and I think I want to keep a memory of that catalytic moment.\nIt's actually the cover image for a series of 5 artworks, which I later decided to mint individually on the Tezos blockchain (Hicetnunc), on April 22 2021. I remember I sold them for 2 XTZ, and when they sold quickly, I thought it was insane that people actually wanted to buy my work.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Linda
How White Men Started The Apocalypse, Linda Dounia's first NFT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Which tools do you use to create?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I spend an enormous amount of time just playing around in my studio. Some of the experiments end up in pieces I make but really, I am just channeling my 5-year-old self, enjoying how it feels to make a mark, to layer it with another mark, to dislike the result and use other marks to bring it home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I use all kinds of things in my practice.\nThere are the basic art-making digital tools, like the Adobe Suite (mostly Illustrator, Photoshop, and AfterEffects), Procreate, Nomad Sculpt, an older version of Microsoft Paint (which is where I first made a digital drawing when I was about 8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I use a range of conventional painterly tools, like acrylic, ink, pastels, oil, spray paint, markers, and collage materials. I also use some analogue devices, like scanners, printers, label makers, projectors, film and instant cameras. I recently fell in love with old office tools, like receipt books, filing stickers, or stamps and stamp pads which I recently stocked up on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been training my own GANs for the past couple of years, and recently started incorporating generative AI tools like Stable Diffusion or Midjourney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, I love using tools not intended for art making to get marks I wouldn't get otherwise, like kitchen tools, different materials (cardboard strips, styrofoam, aluminium sheets, fabrics, etc.), soap, plants, etc. \u2013 anything I might pick up that tickles my curiosity and makes me wonder what I could get messing it around with it in my studio.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Linda
BASANG MAAM, created by Linda Dounia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

What are your biggest influences or sources of inspiration?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I am inspired by abstract expressionists \u2013 Alma Thomas, Elaine de Kooning, Perle Fine. I am also inspired by contemporary abstract artists like Julie Mehretu, Trudy Benson, and Eva Isaksen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, I get a lot of inspiration from peers in web3, like Tony Wallstrom, Lisanne Haack, Roberto Rivadeneira, Klahr, Valeriana la infusi\u00f3n, Tim Romanowsky, and Holladay Saltz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What has been the most rewarding part of being involved in the NFT space?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I have been fortunate to build a community around my practice and work \u2013 there are people who vibe with what I have to offer and encourage me along the way, people whose work I love and maybe have collaborated with, people who are interested in making web3 a safe and inclusive space where the old world rules like cut-throat competition and exclusion don't have to apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That being said, web3 can be brutal, from market fluctuations to sometimes feeling unseen \u2013 it's not for the faint of heart. But I am immensely grateful for what I have been able to build on the blockchain so far. I wouldn't be where I am today without it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n