Wednesday, 19 January, 2022 UTC
Summary
Nigerian 🇳🇬 street artist Eli the Great is using Augmented Reality (AR) to expose government-sponsored violence in Lagos.
Image from ARevolution NIGERIA by Eli the GreatOn the early evening of October 20th, 2021, Nigerian security forces opened fire on a group of peaceful protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos, Nigeria. The students and activists had been protesting police brutality brought about by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a branch of the Nigerian Police notorious for profiling, corruption and abuse. At the end of the massacre, at least a dozen protestors were dead.
For Lagos native and crypto and street artist Amaremo Elaebi, who goes by the handle “Eli the Great,” the killings at the Lekki toll gate were a galvanizing event in both his personal and creative life.
“Street art has always been popular in Lagos,” says Eli.”On every corner you see a piece made by a street artist and often you’ll also see something commissioned by the government.”
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Government-sponsored art and propaganda are of course a far cry from the kind of protest art and social commentary that are seen as the cornerstones of traditional street art and artists. Under the dictatorship of Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, street artists like Eli have come under attack by members of the regime, none more so than artists whose aim is to criticize or expose the violence and corruption within the government and its police forces.
“As an average person living in Nigeria, every decision you make is influenced by the government, and it can be a very stifling environment, and especially for artists,” says Eli. “You’ll be harassed by the cops, art materials aren’t readily available or too expensive for the average person. But I believe that art is the essence of life, and it’s the way that we lend voices to those who can’t be heard.”Mural illustration by Eli the Great
As a response to the killings, and as a way to exhibit his art as a poignant and enduring testament to the violence, Eli enlisted the technology of SuperWorld and sponsorship from the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) for social impact art MONOGRAMA NFT, to exhibit his series of murals in Augmented Reality (AR) on the SuperWorld platform. The murals, entitled “ARevolution NIGERIA: Cryptoart Against Social Injustice,” represent the Genesis Collection of MONOGRAMA’S ARevolution series, which will scale to the rest of the world in 2022 featuring a continued collaboration among dissident artists, SuperWorld and MONOGRAMA.
The ARevolution Genesis Collection was created to raise awareness of social injustice, and opens a new dimension of unique features and tech, including AR and the geo locking of free AR Assets (available exclusively to SuperWorld app users). This new concept was designed in order to safeguard the work of artists, convey social responsibility to the collector and build awareness / influence through the virality of the content free of use.
Works from ARevolution NIGERIA are available for purchase on the OpenSea platform and can be viewed in AR on the SuperWorld mobile app. The series will ultimately consist of 10 different works of art (3 are available at the moment) depicting scenes and themes related to the massacre.
A work from the ARevolution seriesThe exhibit goes live today, January 12th, on the SuperWorld app, along with a NFT Giveaway promotion on social media in the coming days, wherein users of the SuperWorld app can visit the ARevolution series and geo-pin the artwork wherever they are on Earth (think colleges and universities, government buildings, public gathering spaces, museums, historical monuments and more) in solidarity with those killed during last year’s massacre at the Lekki toll gate, and indeed, in solidarity with those who face oppression across the globe.
SuperWorld is honored to partner with Eli the Great and MONOGRAMA to raise awareness for at-risk communities through Innovation, promote amazing art and help to build a better world. To watch the SuperWorld interview with Eli about the ARevolution project, watch our video:
https://medium.com/media/bcb92c3ef9230014ef0b46c7790f8eed/hrefTo get involved, or to learn more about the ARevolution project, contact MONOGRAMA founder Hervé Delhumeau at [email protected] or Tyler Smith, Content Director at SuperWorld at [email protected]
An image from ARevolution by Eli the GreatAbout MONOGRAMA
Founded in 2021, MONOGRAMA is a Fair Trade Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), and includes global leaders from across the spectrum of the NFTS, cryptoart and DeFi ecosystems who collaborate in raising awareness of social injustice. MONOGRAMA fosters social impact projects around the world, with the AMAZONIA project representing its flagship initiative. To learn more, visit Monograma.io
About SUPERWORLD 🌎❤️
SuperWorld is a virtual world in augmented reality (AR), digitally mapped over the surface of the Earth. Plots of SuperWorld land are represented as non-fungible tokens (NFT) corresponding to real world space. Any user in SuperWorld can explore and create AR content, engage in a virtual real estate marketplace, or buy and sell NFTs in the SuperWorld NFT Salon. To learn more, visit SuperWorldapp.com
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Follow Eli the Great on Twitter @AmaremoElaebi and find more links to his artwork here.
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https://medium.com/media/1e1f2ee7654748bb938735cbca6f0fd3/href#ARevolution in Cryptoart & Social Impact NFTs was originally published in AR/VR Journey: Augmented & Virtual Reality Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.