<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=372688758367343&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1"> Mad Dog Jones - REPLICATOR, A Multi-Generational NFT | Phillips

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  • REPLICATOR is the story of a machine through time. It is a reflection on forms of past groundbreaking innovation and serves as a metaphor for modern technology’s continuum. I’m interested to see how collectors will respond as the work evolves and the NFTs in their possession continue to create new generations.” —Mad Dog Jones

  • In with the New...

    Michah Dowbak’s (also known as Mad Dog Jones) REPLICATOR tells the story of a machine through time. The visual component of this work, a digital image of a photocopier housed in a downtown Los Angeles office space, is a nostalgic nod to a once-cutting-edge technology, now on its way toward obsolescence. This image only begins to tell the story of Dowbak’s complex narrative that deftly interweaves medium, form and function, through his use of the recent technological innovation of the Non-fungible Token or NFT. 


    Dowbak utilizes the mechanics of the smart contract imbedded in the NFT to create a self-generating Genesis piece which will continue to create new, discrete NFTs over the course of approximately one year. However, Dowbak has also introduced the element of chance into the work’s algorithm through another self-referential twist—REPLICATOR can also jam. A jam comes in the form of a unique “Jam Artwork,” which will stop a generation from continuing to replicate, curbing exponential growth. A multi-generational NFT experience, the work will ultimately be comprised of seven unique generations each bearing their own defining visual characteristics which illustrate the machine’s journey, rendered in Dowbak’s quintessential citrus-toned hues. 

  • REPLICATOR’s Engagement with Art History

  • It Happened Online

    Dowbak began honing his signature style of digital illustrations on the internet, combining cyberpunk elements with the beauty and bounty of nature. Influenced by growing up surrounded by the forest in Thunder Bay, Ontario (where he still resides), nature is a theme the artist returns to time and time again. His location outside of a traditional art world center also played a role in his decision to use the internet to showcase his artwork. Amassing over 250,000 followers on Instagram since 2017, Dowbak began exploring the medium of NFTs in November of last year as a way to further engage his following.

     

    For Dowbak and other digital artists, the blockchain technology employed by NFTs opened up the possibility to verify ownership and authenticity of their works, creating a thriving market for a long undervalued medium. The mechanics of the market itself and the creation of value through innovation are central tenets in Dowbak’s practice. In November, he released a collection of works on the platform Nifty Gateway: 100 pieces that he sold for one dollar each. After more successful releases on the platform in the months that followed, his prices climbed significantly, which lead to his most recent project Crash + Burn where he released seven new, unique artworks. The only way to get access to these pieces was by collecting five of his initial one-dollar works back in November and trading them in. Once Dowbak received the five works from a collector, he destroyed or “burned” them, creating more scarcity and pushing up the prices of the remaining works on the secondary market, thus rewarding his early collectors in the process. 

  • Crash + Burn by Mad Dog Jones

  • “Who will control the supply?”

    Dowbak’s innovation in the field of “token-omics” reaches a new level in the form of REPLICATOR, where the buyer will be faced with a number of choices as the piece continues to generate. The owner of the work may choose to sell at any time; however, after any of the artworks are sold, the new owner will possess all subsequent replicants or jams from that particular NFT. Will the owner wait to see all seven generations come to fruition, or will they choose to part with an artwork that still has the potential to generate? What will the market value more, scarcity or the untapped potential of an early generation work? The way in which Dowbak utilizes the technological possibilities of his chosen medium to engage with his collecting community illustrates not only his innovation, but also an evolution in the traditional dynamics of the art market being facilitated by NFTs, through the availability and verifiability of information on the blockchain. Much like Dowbak’s photocopier in REPLICATOR represents a particular moment of technological advance, we’re in the midst of an exciting innovation that could open up new creative possibilities for artists, forever changing existing art world conventions. 

  • REPLICATOR’s Specs

    REPLICATOR is an NFT experience comprising seven unique generations of artworks. Generation 1, to be sold at auction, begins as a singular Genesis illustration of a photocopy machine in an office space. This first generation NFT will produce six NFTs at the rate of one per month, with each generation being unique from those before and after it. Each subsequent generation will produce one less artwork in its lifetime until it reaches Generation 7, which will produce no new NFTs. Note, after any artwork is sold the new owner will possess all subsequent replicants or jams from said NFT.

     

    Much like a photocopier, REPLICATOR can also jam. When a “Jam Artwork” is produced, it is unique to its generation but will no longer replicate. The jam rate is between 50-80% for Generations 2 through 6, which also serves to curb exponential growth. Each generation may have up to three unique Jam pieces. Due to statistical variance, it is impossible to predict the exact number. After one million simulations the average is approximately 220 with a 99% chance that the total artworks generated will be between 75 and 300, with an average time of one year from start to finish.

  • MDJ REPLICATOR How it Works

  • FAQs

    How do I create an online bidding account?

    If you do not have an existing Phillips online bidding account, you can create one by providing the information requested on our registration page. In order to register, you are required to supply the information requested on the registration page, including a valid credit card and other information and verification information required by Phillips, which is outlined in our Conditions of Sale. Please allow a minimum of 24 hours prior to the close of the auction to begin the registration and approval process.

    Which currency will bidding be denominated in? 

    The online-only auction will be conducted and invoiced in US dollars (USD).

    What forms of payment are accepted? 

    Payments are due in either USD or in Ether. Each bidder will be responsible for conducting their own U.S. Dollar to Ether cryptocurrency conversion throughout the online-only auction and at the time of each of their bids, and you acknowledge and agree that cryptocurrency rates fluctuate regularly and the conversion rate may change during the course of the online-only auction and you are responsible for the payment of a winning bid at the rate of exchange at the time of the winning bid of the online-only auction, and not at a previous rate of exchange. 

    Can I leave my bid at an amount that is not on the ‘PLACE MAX BID’ drop down menu?    

    No. All bidding in an online-only auction must be done on our standard bidding increments, as shown on the drop-down menu.

    When does bidding close?

    The online-only auction is scheduled to close at noon EDT on Friday, April 23rd. Our online-only auction features dynamic bidding, also known as “Popcorn Bidding." If a bid is made within two minutes of the auction's scheduled closing time, Popcorn Bidding automatically extends the scheduled closing time for the auction for another two minutes after the bid is made. Each subsequent bid resets the clock to allow bids to be made for another two minutes. Once there has been no bidding activity for two minutes, the bidding is considered completed and no further bidding is accepted.

    How is the total purchase price calculated?

    If you are the successful bidder and buyer of the NFT, you agree to pay us the Hammer Price of the lot, the Buyer’s Premium and any applicable sales tax (the “Purchase Price”). The Hammer Price is the final, highest bid accepted for the NFT when the Phillips closes bidding during the MDJ x Phillips online-only auction.
     
    The Buyer’s Premium is the commission Phillips charges the successful highest bidder and buyer of the NFT and is calculated on the Hammer Price of the NFT as follows: Twenty-six percent (26%) of the portion of the Hammer Price up to and including
    $600,000; and Twenty-one percent (21%) of the portion of the Hammer Price above
    $600,000 up to and including $6,000,000 and 14.5% of the portion of the Hammer Price above $6,000,000.

    Are there resale royalties due to the artist on secondary market sales?      

    The NFT and any further versions of the Artwork generated by the NFT (“Children”) are subject to resale royalties on any subsequent resales of the NFT. On any subsequent resale of the NFT or Children, the successful bidder and buyer of the NFT at the online-only auction may be obligated on Seller’s behalf to collect and remit to Seller resale royalties as applicable equal to 10% of the sale price of the NFT, the Artwork or the Children sold. Other resale royalties and transaction duties imposed by law may also apply in relation to such resales.

    Which digital wallets are compatible with REPLICATOR?

    REPLICATOR and any further versions of the Artwork are ERC721 non-fungible tokens and are compatible with all Ethereum-based digital wallets.

    Where will the content of the NFTs be stored? 

    REPLICATOR’s content and metadata will be stored on Arweave, a decentralized storage network. 

    PNG: 16.5 MB (16,457,805 bytes)

    PNG SHA256: b2c27755fb876c407eb3a23e2751caf6d01eb76a35858177cff54bc1dfb94318
    MP4: 64.2 MB (64,232,495 bytes)

    MP4 SHA256: 13d3ed2dba0b6ad47ed86bc2de5809486d08a0797298f57c7361e6b891728d49

    PLEASE NOTE THAT BY REGISTERING TO BID YOU AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING:

    • You are bidding as principal and not on behalf of anyone else

    • You have a wallet capable of supporting and accepting a ERC721 token

    • You accept and understand that payment can be made in Ether only if made:

      • from a single wallet registered to you;

      • using funds belonging to you; and

      • maintained by one of the following:

        • Coinbase Custody Trust;

        • Coinbase, Inc.;

        • Fidelity Digital Assets Services, LLC;

        • Gemini Trust Company, LLC; or

        • Paxos Trust Company, LLC.

     
    Payments from digital wallets hosted at other exchanges or self-hosted wallets will not be recognised or accepted and in such circumstances payment will be required in US dollars.
     
    If you are the successful bidder you agree to provide us with all information and documentation we request in order to verify your identity and to confirm that the Ether payment was made from a digital wallet registered in your name and maintained at by one of the platforms above. Partial payments of a lot from multiple digital wallets will not be accepted.

     

    Please view the full Conditions of Sale, NFTs.

    • Provenance

      The Artist

    • Artist Biography

      Mad Dog Jones

      • 1985

      Michah Dowbak aka Mad Dog Jones is a multidisciplinary artist from Thunder Bay, Ontario, where he still resides. His works deftly interweave cyberpunk, dystopian imagery exploring themes of beauty, nature and technology. As a lover of the wilderness, which was ever present where he grew up, he brings a fresh thematic to the metropolitan aesthetic, done up in citrus and neon tones of technology somehow rendered as a space naturally human. Dowbak rose to fame in the world of crypto art with the recent success of his Crash + Burn series of NFT artworks, and he is now a headliner in the first major NFT art exhibition at UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing.

       
      View More Works

1

REPLICATOR

Token ID: 1
Contract Address: 0xae1f...1538

Non-Fungible Token (ERC-721)
PNG: 16.5 MB (16,457,805 bytes), 4800x6000px
MP4: 64.2 MB (64,232,495 bytes), 4800x6000px, HD, 00:50, stereo

Minted on April 11, 2021, this work is unique.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate On Request

Sold for $4,144,000

Contact Specialist

Rebekah Bowling

Senior Specialist, Head of Day Sale, Afternoon Session

20th Century & Contemporary Art

New York

1 212 940 1250
rbowling@phillips.com