Hotlink & Kenji team up to celebrate local culture with 'Made in Sabah' NFT series
Published on: Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Kota Kinabalu: The City’s latest mural on the wall of Wisma Sabah has been the talk of the town in the recent weeks, but it is set to take even the digital world by storm as Hotlink and renowned Malaysian street artist Kenji Chai are making the piece of art ownable as part of an exclusive NFT series.
A project empowered by Hotlink, as part of their campaign to highlight the #BikinSampaiJadi spirit, it sought to pay homage to Sabahan culture and spirit through the hands of a local artist, and Sandakan-born Kenji was the perfect partner to bring it to live.
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When talking about his artwork, Kenji – who was recently featured in TIME magazine’s 2021 NFT series – said his piece draws upon elements of nature and icons unique to Sabah, such as the Orang Utan, the Rafflesia and even a skull to represent Sabah’s ancient headhunting practice.
However, the focal point of his piece is a Falcon, known to be the fastest animal in the sky with speed that could go over 300 km/h. To accompany it, he also drew the Black Marlin, a saltwater fish
that’s known for its speed at sea as well as the Sunda Cloud Leopard, the fastest animal on land in the Borneo rainforest.
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“I chose those animals because they are the fastest animal in their own right. The Sunda leopard on land, the falcon in the sky, and the black marlin in the sea. Also, Hotlink as a brand has a fast and strong network. So it's a perfect combination.”, said Kenji.
Though most of his work centres on nature and animals, Kenji’s signature style started with his renowned alter ego, Chaigo – which means stray dog – 12 years ago. Since its existence, the dog graffiti can be seen around Gaya Street and other parts of Kota Kinabalu.
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The mural was created as part of Hotlink’s ongoing efforts to shine a light on the hustling spirit that exist across East Coast and East Malaysia states. Those who, despite any challenge or limitation, continue to strive to Bikin Sampai Jadi their way to pursue their passions enabled by connectivity and Internet access.
Watch Kenji story and learn what #BikinSampaiJadi means to him and to his home state: https://youtu.be/ibc3ViFGL6U
Taking it a step further, the brand also wanted to celebrate the unique culture and heritage these states have to offer by empowering homegrown artists to immortalise their state pride permanently on the blockchain. The exclusive Made in Sabah NFT series will see its first drop today with 3 pieces being made available for purchase.
With the internet being a treasure trove for opportunities, Hotlink Prepaid understands that everyone uses internet differently and hence has a wide variety of mobile internet passes for customers to choose from to suit their needs. Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited offers unlimited internet, calls and hotspot, whereas Hotlink Prepaid PANTAS offers high-speed internet for everything with passes from as low as RM2!
“Before this, artists would need to draw paintings and sell them in galleries, but it’s not like that anymore. With internet, art now has no boundaries, digital art is becoming more widely accepted everywhere, you start realising that actually, the world itself has become a gallery of its own,” he said.
Locals and tourists can find Kenji’s masterpiece at Wisma Sabah, facing Suria Sabah Shopping Mall. The collaboration to create the large scale mural commenced in February this year and you can find out more about the work as well as the Made in Sabah NFT collection at https://www.hotlink.my/sT95
Kenji was born and raised in Sandakan and is now based in Kuala Lumpur. To date, he has worked with international brands such as Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, Netflix, Uniqlo, BMW and Swatch. His artwork has been displayed across the world the world including New York, Miami, South Korea, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan and India, among others.
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