Art Meets Tech At ‘Insta Hockney’ Bilaal Raji Saheed and Hyperglade launch NFT Collection

By Panchali Illankoon

Hyperglade together with artist Bilaal Raji Saheed launched ‘INSTA Hockney’ – Sri Lanka’s first homegrown NFT Collection at an exhibit held at Hatch Works last month. INSTA Hockney is inspired by David Hockney’s 1967 artwork ‘A Bigger Splash’ and positions itself as a collection that comments on social issues, events and narratives.

Artist Bilaal Raji Saheed explores themes of form, identity and spirituality; questioning where an artist finds their place in a world where AI can create almost anything the human mind can conceive. What role does AI play in terms of digital art? How does art and technology collide? Is this new Zeitgeists in the making? 

The INSTA Hockney collection features works of different media; some physically hand-drawn and painted and others digitally manipulated or generated with Artificial Intelligence. 26 of these digital artworks are available as NFTs for purchase on the Hyperglade Marketplace - a platform by Hyperglade for creators of NFTs and interested buyers. Hyperglade is a Sri Lankan NFT company working on making NFTs accessible and enabling creators and allows buyers to purchase NFTs with both cryptocurrency and fiat currency (national currency through debit/credit cards). 

“When we were talking about the work we do with Hyperglade, we were blown away by the concepts Bilaal wanted to present with us. We decided to launch an NFT collection featuring Bilaal’s work and that’s how the INSTA Hockney exhibit came about” 

Hyperglade’s collaboration with artist Bilaal Raji Saheed is a first of its kind for the company. The collaboration found its foundations over a cup of coffee shared between Hyperglade’s CEOs and Bilaal, which eventually saw to the launch of the INSTA Hockney exhibit and NFT collection. “When we were talking about the work, we do with Hyperglade, we were blown away by the concepts Bilaal wanted to present with us. We decided to launch an NFT collection featuring Bilaal’s work and that’s how the INSTA Hockney exhibit came about” shared Co-CEO of Hyperglade, Kalana Muthumuni. Bilaal Raji Saheed is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, and architect whose work spans across multiple media and disciplines, including AI-generated contemporary art, sculpture, architecture, interiors and digital design. The artist has previously exhibited in group shows in Hong Kong and London and INSTA Hockney was his first solo exhibition in Colombo.

The INSTA Hockney collection is available on the Hyperglade Marketplace where buyers can purchase the NFT artworks in fiat currency through their debit/credit card or cryptocurrency. Artwork can be viewed and bought at marketplace.hyperglade.com.