If we were to tell the story of existence, using robots, afrodroids would be the way to go. Owo Anietie, a Nigerian 3D Afrofuturism artist has had these curious pieces of art on display across three continents within a matter of months.
They have been on display in top galleries across Hong Kong, Australia and London. Owo tells the story of Africa as the source of human origin, reflections on Africa’s history, her present day trials, and the future of humanity.
He does this through his project called the afrodroids. Through his work, Owo brings back treasures from Africa’s rich history, merges them with the present predicament of the African reality and projects different aspects of the future with a blend of utopia and dystopia.
Afrodroids are a science fiction concept based on an art form called afrofuturism.
Afrofuturism is a cultural philosophy which blends science and history. Owo uses this to explore the developing intersection of African Diaspora Culture with technology. Probably why the international community are drawn to his work enmass.
The significance of Owo’s work goes beyond being unique digital art (a progression from canvas). His art is profound as it integrates sci-fi (science fiction), history, real life issues and futuristic outcomes. Sci-Fi from his perspective inspires innovation and highlights areas that need more attention in Africa and the world at large.
Afrodroids are robots with human consciousness. From an Afrodroid’s perspective, “it’s 3045, the year everything changed. Humanity’s carelessness, disregard, and refusal to nurture the earth led to the total annihilation of mankind and not a single human was left.”
Some of these AfroDroids can be seen on display in a collection of 12,117 unique NFTs. NFTs are unique digital collectibles living on the Ethereum blockchain. Every AfroDroid pays homage to his African heritage as depicted in the earrings, beads, and other indigenous traits.
Art In Motion
The artist sheds more light on the anticipated progression of his innovation. On his website, he has a roadmap of activities that spans from the 3rd quarter of 2021 to the 3rd quarter of 2022.
When asked about what is next for the Afrodroids project, Owo Anietie had this to say “The project has a roadmap clearly presented as a timeline of activities that shows where things are headed. Each afrodroid is a piece of art with Increasing value and lots of hidden benefits which are unveiled as each phase of the project is unlocked. In the 3rd quarter of 2021, as depicted in the roadmap, we see different creations each telling a unique story to the viewer . Also see a recent update to medium.”
Art for impact
Emmanuel Emordi CEO at hifive.ng and an avid follower of Owo Anietie’s project from it’s early days had this to say about his favorite part of the project “what stands out for me about this project is his aim for the first block of the roadmap, “The inception” where a whooping 20% of his drop proceeds and 25% of the secondary sales of his art is to be donated to the Dream Catcher’s academy for girls’ charity.
This is such an inspiring angle to this project. Nigeria’s first all-girls arts school funded by an NFT project. This goes beyond even normal expectations as the donations as stated are written directly into the smart contract. This just means the donations go directly to them. Of the many implcations of this project, this is one aspect I’m deeply proud of”.
Afrodroids In The Metaverse
He also hints at work to be commenced in the metaverse. This of course comes as no surprise as the digital world is moving towards the metaverse.
The Omega which is the next roadblock was to be the birth of the first continent art collective. The timeline is the 4th quarter of 2021. Aim here again is to find, cultivate and support up and coming artists from Africa and beyond. They will form the 1st continent art collective. Owo once more proves himself to be an artist with art worth taking more than a passing interest in.
The transformation is the next era on the roadmap occurring in the first quarter of 2022. Formation of 1cac production studios by Owo. Media partnerships to be announced and trailers/teasers released.
In this era, all 12,117 unique afrodroid nfts were minted on opensea.io. This happened within 12 minutes. To describe the collection as a whole, it embodies culture, creativity, style and heritage. We can truly see the attention to detail and the depth of art he embodies in all his creations. Favourites from the collection include #28 and #103.
#28 is a droid wearing a beanie and pearls. Its face is camouflaged with a heart in its centre. The attention to details is exquisite.
#103 is a droid in animal print and a striped yellow cap. The artist integrates fun and colour while still maintaining fashion and uniqueness.
This is definitely a project that has garnered the attention of many far and wide as it brings to light the true African history from a sci-fi perspective.
The activation will occur in the 2nd quarter of 2022. In this quarter, the ownership of 1cac production studios is to be fractionalized. Merch is to be released for sales and distribution.
