Katun is a name that is not alien to any art enthusiasts in Malaysia, or even in the international scene. As he recently made premiere into the NFT markets, it did not come as a surprise when his recent collection entitled ‘Apes R Us’, consisting of 8,444 NFTs was sold out within 28 hours. The collection, which valued at USD 7,000,000 (USD 2,700 per ETH) at the time of writing, surpassed his previous NFT releases – ‘Apes Stands Strong’ and ‘Mystical Fruits’ – which reached an approximate total sale of USD 401,000.
This new collection gives insight to Katun’s artistic exploration of everyday traits and nostalgic characters through more than eight thousand polychromatic primates.
Staying true to his signature style of using the well-known fauna in Malaysia – the apes or more specifically the orangutans – as the main subject of his art and reinterpreting them through cartoon characters that we know and love, the new collection included 100 NFTs that were tied with WWF Malaysia. The proceeds for these specific pieces went to the orangutan conservation efforts in Sabah and Sarawak. His support for Malaysian fauna conservation efforts is also evident with his Sotheby collaboration, auctioning one of his art pieces ‘Rest in Paradise’ that went live on the 12th of April.
The excitement of this collection did not end there. In conjunction of the ‘Apes R Us’ partnership with the brand, Katun announced a catalogue of 4 limited edition New Era caps where the NFTs were displayed on. Collaborations with well-known brands are not something new for Katun based on his track records of collaborating with DC Shoes, JBL, Vans, and Sony, among others.
Talking about track records, Katun did not shy away from working with renowned international artists such as Chris Brown, Dua Lipa, & Post Malone, to name a few. In the recent times, he has gained increasing support by other art and NFT enthusiasts such as Faze Banks, Jason Falovitch (Mr NFT), Elliot Wainman (SuperFarm CEO), Farokh Sarmad (RugRadio Founder), and not to be missed local celebrities with the likes of Joe Flizzow and SonaOne. The latter was even involved in producing a music track to accompany the ‘Rest in Paradise’ piece.
So, what is next in Katun’s artistic journey? Currently brewing, he is in the process of making an ‘Apes R Us’ animation TV series with one of the best animators in Asia. More details regarding this exciting project will be revealed soon.
