The Hard Questions🪇 A Vvvinterivew with GROTTO LABS 1. What’s the story behind your new collection? UNX was our response to the deluge of slop (both AI and human) we see in the NFT space. They stand in protest against low quality scam art and demand an increase in general quality from everyone involved. UNX is old school, hence the name of the collection. We wanted to make NFTs that felt like classical baroque 17th century paintings but through the lens of the digital realm and contemporary painting realm—they’re as unique as possible while still being generative, powerfully digital but romantically human. It’s important as ever to provide the highest quality art in a way that feels accessible, exciting, mysterious—UNX is like ripping an art pack at the Louvre/MOMA. There are about 3500 traits in our 1111 collection, so theres an absolute glut of material and that lends to their individual real feel. I let the generator dictate “rarity”.  UNX embraces a collaged aesthetic, but we didn’t want it to seem digital or overly chaotic/traitmaxed. Many people reference cartoons, anime, Pokémon—We referenced 1920s-1970s ephemera, 80s stickers, QSL, folk art, vintage stuff, little pieces of tape and scratch marks, pencil marks, all things that could be adhered to a canvas IRL. We embraced the happy accidents but made sure they were polished and felt grounded into the work. each layer is painted/glued into the picture, surfaces pop out, textures feel tactile. Coming from an oil painting background, we wanted UNX to look as close to IRL works as possible. AI was used sparingly in the collection, but when it’s used it’s cohered and applied in a hand-made way, think cut magazine collage vs. digital layering. Many of the UNX got worked after generation too, to further enhance their individuality. At the end of the day, We wanted to make a collection that was affordable without devaluing the work, and for each piece to feel special and something any collector would be happy to own (and HOLD) whether they bought 1 or 100. We want to see NFTs in general increase in quality and we want artist to not be afraid to price them higher if the quality warrants it, not the opposite. UNX is real art—it’s refined + timeless, the grotto way.  ↓🧵