Modern Rebel, Conflict, and BrownSugar’s Accidental Fame
The 32nd auction in the Arena, that of Modern Rebel by Mazin Ahmed in the AI Minds collection, made history in many ways. When considering how art is valued, much of it is contingent upon the creator; the narrative conveys its value and the significant events surrounding it. For instance, the famous elbowing of Picasso’s Le Reve by Steve Wynn increased its popularity; it was later sold for $155 million.
The Arena presents a gamified experience where bidders focus on creators and their works. This approach collapses the conventional model used to attain attention and value (e.g., time and cost for marketers, curators, critics, gallerists, and advertising).
Modern Rebel went on auction in the battle-bidding arena on October 17th and was purchased by “Kellz” on October 27, 2021. Mazin, the creator, is from Sudan and was motivated by his mother’s resilience to Sudanese law enforcers and her capacity to keep up with the world’s evolving technology while preserving her roots.
Mazin articulates, “Growing up in Sudan, my family has always been against the government and its brutality and dishonesty with the people and wasting their money and resources. However, that little Mazin was enthralled by the way his mom always stood up to cops and never feared to express her thoughts freely. The more little Mazin grew up, the more he realized how the world was changing; technology took over almost every aspect, and he watched his mom adapt to the changes and keep up with them without losing her roots. I tried to capture this in this artwork, as the afro symbolizes her connection to her beautiful roots and cause, while the small power circuit illustrates the technology.”
For the prior 31 auctions on Arena, the Loot team had not encountered any issues; however, on Thursday, 21 October, at roughly 3:20 PM EDT, a problem with the Modern Rebel auction was identified, and the auction was paused. The paused auction incorrectly portrayed a miner known as “BrownSugar” as the last bidder, and the timer was set at 0:00.
The auction was suspended to allow the Loot team to identify and resolve the issue. The full report of the incident is documented here. Bidding before the pause was intense, and as the issue was observed, the NeoWorlder Telegram group became animated.
Our team quickly announced that it was investigating the matter, and a statement issued later indicated that the auction would be resumed. However, this did not prevent our community from turning “BrownSugar” into one of the most popular usernames on Arena. The memes came quickly:
Our Telegram group’s good-humored nature made “BrownSugar” an instantly recognizable brand. The auction was resumed on Sunday, 21 October, and quickly surpassed the last highest-grossing NFT sold on Arena, eventually shattering the previous auction record by about 60,000 BUN. The final value for which the NFT sold was 245,842 BUN (USDC 18,376.53). Modern Rebel is also the most extended auction, lasting approximately seven days.
Sadly, midway through the resumed auction, a situation was developing in Mazin’s native home of Sudan. The Sudanese military had recently overthrown the country’s civilian-led transitional government, causing an uproar of violence against civilians following their protests.
Mazin said, “I was so excited about the auction till last night when a military coup happened back home. Please, everybody, try to keep up with what’s happening in Sudan if y’all get a chance. Most of the money I will get from this auction will be redirected to the cause and the people. Once more, I appreciate you guys for this great experience, and hopefully, more pieces will come through.” He added, “I want to thank this community first for being so welcoming and supportive. Also, I want to thank everyone that was bidding on the piece and got it here, and of course, I can’t forget about Aya Trades and Ishant Ayadassen for making this possible to happen in the first place. Many thanks, and y’all are great. I appreciate every single one of y’all.”
We believe these events on Arena will forever be linked to the Modern Rebel’s first-listing and could potentially propel its value in the future. Owning Modern Rebel is owning not only a work of art but also a piece of the history of NeoWorlder and that of Sudan.
We were moved to see our growing community helping creators break out and showcase their talent and lending their aid to those in need worldwide. We thank the community for their remarkable display of humanity!
We look forward to the coming auctions, especially the HardCap 500, which will be introduced soon.
—
Learn more about Lootverse: lootnft.io
Join the conversation here:
