Singapore – In line with the Year of the Tiger and on the rising issue of Bengal tigers being endangered in their natural habitat, non-profit organisation The Corbett Foundation (TCF) has launched its latest non-fungible token (NFT) initiative called ‘Generative NFTs to Regenerate our Tigers’.
Unlike other NFT campaigns that are focused on art and other media, TCF wanted to use NFTs for a meaningful purpose, raising awareness for TCF’s commitment to helping Bengal tigers roam free across greater areas of land so they can repopulate and regenerate their numbers, in turn conserving the vast biodiversity of the nature reserves they inhabit.
Just like how each tiger stripes are one-of-a-kind, and unique to each tiger, TCF and its partners decided to use the original and distinctive tiger stripe patterns of real tigers from The TCF reserve, as inspiration for the NFT to bring awareness to the continued efforts in regenerating the tiger population in India.
TCF worked with partners BBDO Singapore and artist radarboy3000 to create a limited series of 2,967 NFTs based on real unique tiger stripes and put them up for purchase. All proceeds will be donated to TCF.
According to the artist, the generative art of the NFT tigers uses an algorithm which generates unique works of art by taking data from photos of actual surviving tigers in the wild.
“Just like each tiger’s stripes are unique, so is each artwork. Tigers in captivity can never be re-introduced to the wild. So, it’s imperative we protect them and preserve their habitat. I designed the work to be meditative, slowly evolving and revealing – signifying what is broken and lost, but also as a strong message of hope: that these beautiful animals will re-generate in numbers and be allowed to roam freely,” the artists said.
Meanwhile, Kedar Gore, director at TCF, said that working with their partners to create beautifully dynamic pieces of NFT artwork from actual photographs of tigers really helps bring the crux of the issue to life, and with the help of the sale of these NFTs, the rejuvenation of wild tigers.
“The natural world constantly faces evolving threats, and amongst the vast number of species facing extinction includes the five species of tigers left. Having been at the forefront of tiger conservation in India for nearly 30 years, TCF wants to take a modern approach to creating opportunities for the community to bring a new hope to the last remaining tigers in the wild,” Gore said.
The NFTs will be listed on fxhash, an open platform that enables artists to create, mint, and collect generative NFTs. fxhash is powered by Tezos, a power-efficient blockchain driven to provide green, clean blockchain innovation and technology.
Each of the 2,967 NFTs will be sold for approximately 2 tez (equivalent to US$8) and the proceeds raised will be donated towards TCF’s continued conservation work to keep tigers alive, roaming and growing.