Interview with Phasma- The Intangibility of Reality

We interviewed Alice, the Art Director at Phasma. She told us all about her credentials and ethos and how it ties into a worldview that informs her artistic expression.

1. Please tell us about you, your name, project position, credentials, etc., so we can introduce you.

My name is Alice Ballabio, and I’m the Art Director and Artist of PHASMA.

I’m from Milano, Italy, and I grew up in what I consider the design capital.

I’m an Architect who graduated from the Politecnico of Milano. Furthermore, I’ve also two master's degrees, one in product and furniture design and one in design management & strategic innovation.

I’ve worked for some major Italian furniture brands as a designer.

2. How would you describe your artistic style?

I’ve been called the “Sci-fi designer.”

I’m a nerd; I love studying, creating stories, and going as deep as possible into a concept.

However, what inspires me and fascinates me the most is the future. I like how science, biology, exobiology, physics, space exploration, material properties, and so on connect to it. Those topics are always the beginning and the end of each of my creations.

So, what’s my style? I create reasoned, meaningful, and primarily futuristic stories and try to give them life through every tool I’ve ever mastered, from painting to 3D art.

3. What drew you to NFT creation rather than traditional canvas-based art?

I’m curious; I love everything that’s new and aims for the future, I firmly believe in it, and I can’t wait for what is yet to come. So, how could I ever resist NFTs?

4. Are there any artists who have inspired you? What do you like about their work?

I’ve always loved art, and I have always studied it in my career path.

Many artists, or designers, have inspired me, from the contemporary ones such as Murakami, Zaha Hadid, SixnFive, Yves Klein & Calatrava, to the oldest ones: Gustave Klimt, Vincent van Gogh, Borromini, Botticelli, Egon Schiele and so many more.

5. What made you create NFTs?

I love to innovate, and the NFT ecosystem is the newest way to do it right now.

6. Can you tell us about PHASMA?

PHASMA, as a brand, was born from a profound reflection of the new “intangibility of reality” we will soon experience.

The idea of soul, apparition, and immateriality permeates PHASMA, a brand that aims to envision the future of our digital ecosystem and its impact on our lives.

How will it do so?

By bringing meaningful content that can portray and reflect our day-to-day experiences. We believe in art and design as powerful tools to bring innovation, elevate us, and make us feel alive.

As its aesthetic statement, PHASMA will soon launch its first NFTs collection, the first giant step to building a more comprehensive and much more elaborated vision from the ground up.

PHASMA Art, PHASMA Academy… These are just a few of the names you will hear in the future.

7. Can you introduce the PHASMA NFT collection?

I would describe PHASMA as a “ghostly” NFT collection.

It’s a speculation of our destiny, of the human society one actually: a future in which our body will become meaningless and, as mysterious and soulful specters, we will be able to experience reality and change it too.

PHASMA is a story, a trilogy indeed. It will start with the first collection, these colorful, accessorized PHASMAs that resemble us. Then it will continue with another collection, the digital viruses one, which will be airdropped to each PHASMA holder. Eventually, we will have a third collection, the transmuted PHASMAs one.

8. Can you talk us through the process of how you create the art?

For PHASMA's style, I took inspiration from a particular series of works, the blue nudes of Henri Matisse. You can see it in the choice of not using a line for the borders, a pretty uncommon and unique technique in the NFT field.

9. Why did you decide to promote it through the PHASMA stickers project?

We wanted to do something tangible that people could physically possess, have fun and be creative with. We had a fantastic response, and we saw our PHASMAs all around the globe. For that, we only have to thank the incredible IC community.

10. How many NFTs will be minted?

5.000 NFTs will be minted, among which five will be rare, let’s say the most ghostly ones. There will also be five legendary ones that will lead to the continuation of PHASMA’s story.

Furthermore, the collection will feature almost 500 unique features, with a very different rarity scale, which will make each PHASMA special.

11. Will people be able to breed, stake, or rent your NFT, or will it ever be in a game?

Yes! PHASMA will TRANSMUTE.

Indeed, there will be some sort of digital viruses, let’s call them “exceptional transmutations,” that will give the possibility to each PHASMA owner to get an additional specter altered in a new, strange and unique way.

There will be five “viruses” with a different rarity scale, and each PHASMA owner will receive them as a free airdrop. They are called: low-res, invisible, alien, melting, and mutant.

12. Can you tell us more about the five digital viruses?

As I said, there will be five viruses, so let's start from the most common one to the rarest.

Function transmutation (digital virus, 1500) {return Low-res PHASMA} This Low-res digital virus will transmute 1,500 out of 5,000 PHASMAs into their pixelated self.

Function transmutation (digital virus, 1000) {return Invisible PHASMA} The Invisible digital virus will be the “nightmare” of 1000 specters who don’t like to, let’s say, show off.

Function transmutation (digital virus, 750) {return Alien PHASMA} An Alien digital virus will attack no more than 750 specters which will start to look a little bit peculiar.

Function transmutation (digital virus, 500) {return Melting PHASMA} This virus will transmute just 500 specters into another material, but I would not call that an improvement.

Function transmutation (digital virus, 250) {return Mutant PHASMA} is a sporadic disease that will transmute 250 exceptional PHASMAs into something very… hideous.

13. What benefits do you think the Internet Computer has over other L1 blockchains when it comes to creating NFTs?

We think the Internet Computer is simply better.

It allows you to create NFT collections at a meager cost compared to Ethereum and Solana, plus the transactions are practically zero cost, which is an advantage in the NFT world.

14. What other art have you seen that excites you in the Internet Computer NFT ecosystem?

Curated projects such as Poked Bots, IC Dinos, Boxy dude and some others.

15. What excites you most about your launch, and which date is your launch?

We already have a launch date, but it will be announced in a few days.

We are excited to launch our collection and create something special on the Internet Computer. So we are looking forward to the launch to start working on what PHASMA will be.

16. What advice would you give anyone trying to enter the world of NFTs?

For artists and designers: try to find a good software developer as a partner, and you’re set.

17. Do you have further plans to work with ICP Squad in the future after this initial sale?

Indeed, as mentioned before, this is just the beginning for PHASMA, and continuing to grow and pass on information to the community is of great importance.

Bringing meaningful content to grow the community has been our aim since the beginning, and we will not stop there.

18. Can you envisage a future where the most valuable NFT space is on the Internet Computer?

As mentioned before, one of our aims is to create a platform, PHASMA Art, to enhance cultural and artistic elevated content on the IC.

So yes, we do not just envision it; we aim to do it.

19. Why do you think NFTs have become so valuable in a short time?

The reason is pretty straightforward: the non-replicability of a simple line of code is a perfect match for a unique-piece market, such as the art one. That’s the reason why NFTs took off.

20. Tell us about your team

We are a team of two.

Me, the Art Director/artist, and Marko, my colleague who is the developer of the duo and the one with the highest knowledge about Crypto, the Blockchain, and the NFT ecosystem.

I think that right now, this is everything you need: sound art and someone capable of making it work.

21. What advantages do you believe you have over other competitors?

We don’t do NFTs for the sake of gaining money. We both have a pretty exciting work life outside of the project. We do it because we believe in art, and design, as powerful tools to bring innovation and elevate us.

That’s the reason why we decided to try to bring meaningful and artistic content to the IC. That’s our most vital point among the technical capabilities that each member of the team has.

22. Do you have any partners? Please tell us about them.

For now, no. We plan to collaborate with real-life artists in the future through the platform we aim to create: PHASMA Art.

23. Tell us about the challenges you have faced while building your project.

Being a team of two and building a brand, head to toe, it’s hard.

Each of us has a really intense work-life outside of the project, but with hard work, non-stop Sunday sessions, and more, we managed to do it, and it feels incredible.

24. What are your short and long-term achievements and targets?

Our short-term goal is definitely to mint the collection, start our project as best we can, and give something to those who believe and have believed in us from the beginning, the people that will one day be called PHASMA holders.

On the other hand, as our long-term goal, we would like PHASMA Art to be successful and bring various high-level artists to Internet Computer to enhance and elevate the artistic value of the IC NFT ecosystem.

25. Give us some details about your roadmap and PHASMA Art.

After launching our PHASMA collection, in a short time, all owners will receive a "digital virus" in airdrop with which they will be able to get a new, additional, and transmuted PHASMA.

At the same time, the development of PHASMA Art will take place.

PHASMA Art will be a launchpad for real-life artists and creatives, where they can promote their collection with our Art Direction partnership, help, and consultancy.

Also, any user will be able to have his profile and show his NFTs to the world, with an estimate of the value and the level of rarity, other than various rankings for users.

PHASMA Art will give many benefits to PHASMA holders.

26. Do you have any plans to expand into the Metaverse?

We do not plan anything to do with the Metaverse, but it may happen in the future. We may enter some Metaverse developed on the Internet Computer. Who knows? For now, let’s try to envision it.

27. Will your NFT be tokenized in the future?

For now, it is not in the plan.

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions 😊

Connect With Us:

Twitter | Telegram | Instagram | Facebook | Email

Disclaimer
Sponsored Content : Dfinity Community does not necessarily endorse any content or product on this page. While we aim to provide you with information regarding important projects and developments in the Internet Computer ecosystem, readers should do their own research and carry full responsibility for their decisions, and this article should not be considered as investment advice. Please note that every effort is made by DC to vet projects we promote