The renowned photography artist, Michel Comte, is entering the NFT sphere with his Genesis drop on May 12th, 2022. A series of 14-unique NFTs will be released as a continuation to his cinematic film The Girl from Nagasaki; a melodramatic tale of love and despair.
In Comte’s vision of Japanese culture and aesthetics, beauty is inextricably tethered to mystery, and the uniquely seductive elegance that arises from this combination is both perfectly flawless and dangerously complex. Indeed, in many of the images of Comte’s Japan Series, a productive friction arises between the meticulous and symbol-laden styling of both subject and surrounding, and the seemingly unknowable if not feral core of the protagonists. Because of this duality, Comte’s images are not only a feast for the eye, but an invitation to our imagination.
“When the NFT started, I think it was an extremely great democratisation of art, as art should be democratic, it should be for everybody. That is why I decided to use the new technology. I strongly belief that NFTs will put some order into the system and it will regulate the market in an intelligent way.”
—Michel Comte
Girl from Nagasaki (Liberation), 2010-2022
© Michel Comte. Courtesy elementum
In the Girl form Nagasaki (Liberation), 2010 depicts an underwater-scene, shot in the swimming pool of James Goldstein’s infamous home in Los Angeles (which was build by star architect John Lautner).
Comte has ‘always been obsessed with film’, especially with the likes of Antonioni, Pasolini, Bertolucci, Tarkovsky, and Kurosawa. Having spent most of his life behind the camera, it is only natural that Comte has come to think in pictures. Interestingly, despite his penchant and pronounced talent for elaborate mis-en-scène, he never let go of the incalculable feral element in all of us. On the contrary, it is the friction between image and being that interests him.
The Bath, 2016-2022
© Michel Comte. Courtesy elementum
“The Bath” has also been previously featured on Vogue Italia in 2017. In Comte’s vision of Japanese culture and aesthetics, beauty is inextricably tethered to mystery, and the uniquely seductive elegance that arises from this combination is both perfectly flawless and dangerously complex. Indeed, in many of the images of Comte’s Japan Series, a productive friction arises between the meticulous and symbol-laden styling of both subject and surrounding, and the seemingly unknowable if not feral core of the protagonists. Because of this duality, Comte’s images are not only a feast for the eye, but an invitation to our imagination.
Imperial Sakura, 2017-2022
© Michel Comte. Courtesy elementum
Under Comte’s lens, rose cherry blossoms glow in front of ominously dark skies like enigmatic omens. The “Japan Series” form Comte’s photographic essay and are all shot with a Hasselblad camera.
“I’ve been recording cherry blossoms for many years. The cherry blossom season is a time of celebration in Japan. (…) t’s a moment of renewal.”
—Michel Comte
The Girl from Nagasaki (Bondage), 2010-2022
© Michel Comte. Courtesy elementum
The soft skin of a delicate body underneath the ropes of bondage; ceremonial dressing and pious posture coyly conceal the intimate being or its bearers.
The Japan Series form Comte’s photographic essay and are all shot with a Hasselblad camera.
On May 12th, 14 unique NFTs will be released on the elementum.art platform for 1.5 ETH. An NFT Box, entailing all 14 artworks as pigment prints will also be made available as an edition of 10 (each pigment print will be 57 x 76 cm and signed and numbered).
Find out more on elememtum.art
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