Renga is as enigmatic an NFT project as the “black box” NFTs that started it all. Since its launch in June 2022, the project has made more than 40,000ETH in volume and has a current minimum price of 1.1799 ETH.
Despite the lack of a roadmap, little in the way of the traditional NFT utility, and a mostly private artist and founder, the project has maintained a healthy community feeling, driven mostly by what some people call the best. PFP art throughout Web3.
But what is Renga and how has she found her success?
What is Renga?
Renga is a 10,000-piece NFT collection named after an ancient form of Japanese poetry. With Renga, a group of poets take turns writing stanzas, one at a time, to create a longer poem.
This style of poetry serves as a metaphor for the vision of the Renga NFT collection: beautifully rendered in a fluid, colorful, retro-futuristic art style, NFTs are like the front line of a longer story that the community urges. to continue to the end.
like the collection website says: “Renga gives us the freedom to create anything we set our minds to.”
The story of Renga NFT began in March 2022, when the cartoonist daniel islandsbetter known by his alias DirtyRobot, launched his The art of the seasons NFTs, a collection of dynamic illustrations featuring the four seasons. Isles’ previous success as a 1/1 artist, including sales of more than $70,000led to a full sale of his debut collection.
But Isles did not stop there. In the summer of 2022, Isles airdropped mysterious Black Box NFT “The Art of Seasons” holders who could burn for a PFP of an art collection called Renga. Only Black Box NFTs have done more than 10,000 ETH in volume, and there are still more than 1,000 to burn.
With a vision of being a platform for perpetual storytelling across multiple mediums, Isles created an NFT collection that was so detailed and engaging that it took Twitter and the NFT space by storm. In fact, some even claim that it is one of the best PFP art projects in Web3.
Since then, Isles and his team have released multiple digital comics on Renga’s social platforms, including a Manga series about a boy. who finds a mysterious black box. They have also recently created a collaborative merchandising release with Esthetic.
Who is the artist behind Renga?
The driving force behind the project is Isles, who was born in Birmingham, UK, and currently resides in Hokkaido, Japan. He had early interests in creating comics and streetwear as a child. Combined with his obsession with old Kung fu movies and transformers cartoons, it is not surprising that you see the mixture of East and West, future and past, mechanical and organic in his Renga art.
However, Isles himself refuses to define his style. in a Interview with hypebeasthe said his style is a “constantly evolving work…in progress on a daily basis”.
Despite his reluctance to be confined to a single label, Isles’ artistic style is a unifying force that has made the Renga NFT collection so inspiring to its owners. This is especially evident in the 11 archetypes in the collection, which feature distinctive visual styles that are both unique and cohesive.
The 11 archetypes in the Renga NFT Collection have encouraged the community to create their own unique narratives around the collection. Some crafts from Renga holders background stories for their NFTs, while others produce illustrations using his Rengas as inspiration.
While Isles and his team continue to bring new stories and inspiration to the community, Isles has also shared his talents with other NFT collections since the release of Renga. For example, she contributed a piece called city center to Stefan Große Halbuer’s Curious Cabins collection, and created Bear Survival Tactics for the 6529 collection. Isles’ versatility and distinctive artistic style make him a sought-after collaborator in the NFT space.
Why Renga is successful?
At first glance, what Renga has brought to her community since launch: a few drops of merch, a few webcomics, and access to a handful of events, could get other projects accused of stealing their headlines. But there is no such feeling here; the headlines are proud of their earnings.
By way of explaining the success of the collection, some might say that utility is art itself. But that assessment may miss the point. If people want art as a utility, they can buy a 1/1 NFT from any of hundreds of artists. Renga seems to represent something deeper than that.
It’s a way for collectors to come together, like kids around a campfire, to create stories out of a collection of NFTs. By owning a Renga, you can add another line to NFT history and maybe even art in general.
Renga’s utility, therefore, may be something closer to inspiration.
It is important to note that there is no roadmap for the project. islands said 137pm that a roadmap would “hinder artists rather than help them”. Instead, the Rengas are a gift to the community to tell the story as they please. The collection’s website puts it best here in reference to the original Black Box NFTs and the mysterious nature of the art:
“Together, we will discover the enigma.”
