Verse Talks

Verse
  • 3.9 (7)
  • Arts
  • Updated Weekly

Discussing the latest news in digital art with Leyla Fakhr and Jamie Gourlay.

  1. 23h ago

    Ed Fornieles on Identity in the Internet Age

    Artist Ed Fornieles joins Verse Talk to discuss Borrowed Lives: Anon 2026, a  body of work exploring how the internet shapes identity. The conversation ranges from Tumblr and 4chan to memes, online belonging, gamer culture, masculinity, AI, and what it means to grow up in a world where images never stop arriving. Along the way, Ed discusses his wider practice, why online communities matter, and how visual culture quietly changes the way we think about ourselves. 00:00 Introduction 03:45 Introducing Ed Fornieles & Borrowed Lives: Anon 05:45 How Tumblr inspired the project 08:35 4chan, anonymity and internet culture 12:00 Cell: recreating online communities in real life 20:25 "The memes meme you" 22:55 Why Borrowed Lives isn't a traditional narrative 25:10 Growing up through images 29:45 Building Anon: research, internet rabbit holes & image collecting 34:40 Inside the artworks: grids, chapters and visual storytelling 37:20 Why it's called Borrowed Lives 39:45 Are online communities inherently dangerous? 44:35 Masculinity, belonging and growing up online 49:45 How the artworks are actually made 53:00 Pepe, Wojak and the evolution of internet identity 56:10 Future characters, AI and where the project goes next 58:50 Raising teenagers in the internet age 1:02:15 Final thoughts

    50 min
  2. Trevor Paglen: curating Basel Switzerland’s first Zero 10

    Jun 15

    Trevor Paglen: curating Basel Switzerland’s first Zero 10

    00:18 - Welcome Trevor Paglen 01:17 - Co-curating Zero 10 Basel 03:34 - Beyond labels and distinctions 05:36 - Blending traditional and digital audiences 08:45 - A blockchain agnostic view 11:44 - NFTs, legitimacy and cultural perception  15:08 - How the art world has shifted  18:00 - The collapse of the mid-tier gallery  20:45 - NFTs as an alternative path for artists   22:58 - Selecting artists for Zero 10  27:00 - Why digital galleries do fairs  31:00 - Presenting digitally first work in a physical context  32:29 - Verse as a cultural archive for the internet  35:00 - Art, collecting and cultural stigma 36:55 - What success looks like at Zero 10 Basel 40:04 - Programme highlights https://x.com/trevorpaglen

    43 min

  3. Jun 14

    Jalil: Visualise Value, Checks and a new auction house for Cryptopunks

    00:24 - Welcome Jalil  03:29 - From art to coding  07:04 - Finding Web3 and NFTs  08:05 - Finding Visualize Value and community   14:01 - The Permissionless Apprentice and connecting with Jack  18:47 - Embracing Ethereum and learning Solidity  22:10 - Scapes   24:24 - Experiencing the NFT boom   29:46 - From rock bottom to Checks   35:08 - Building the Checks contracts   39:39 - How Checks works  41:53 - Rarity, MEV risk and gaming the system  43:26 - From Checks to Opepen and an ongoing collaboration   44:24 - Creative roles, collaboration and ego  45:58 - The impact of AI on Jalil's practice  50:38 - Obsession as a path to exceptionalism   53:58 - Exploring an individual art practice again      56:43 - CryptoPunks V1 and V2  01:00:50 - Fixing V1 trading on-chain and the issue with wrappers  01:04:22 - V1 drama and shifting views on IP  01:09:33 - The birth of Networked  01:14:32 - Building for wider understanding with EVM Now   01:18:40 - A new auction house for Punks  01:21:01 - New launches and ideas at Verse   Scapes: https://scapes.xyz/  https://jack.art/checks-originals  https://opepen.art/  https://x.com/jalilwahdat

    1h 26m

  4. Jun 8

    Nuclear Samurai: BRAINROT

    00:14 - Welcome Nuclear Samurai 02:51 - Expectations going into the mint  06:13 - Why choose Verse for BRAINROT  08:59 - Early explorations in digital art   11:59 - Fine art to fashion photography   16:04 - Rediscovering NFTs in 2022 17:30 - Finding community on X 20:27 - New technologies and artistic freedom  24:21 - Cultivating a broad audience  28:03 - The Artist as a Founder    29:14 - The importance of a considered rollout   33:28 - Timing the drop, attention, and outreach  36:50 - How trends shape culture  38:28 - Scaling the work  41:06 - The power of a custom contract  42:51 - The next steps for BRAINROT  46:34 - Community and Discord plans 47:55 - Why BRAINROT resonated so widely   53:29 - Zeitgeists and references  Nuclear Samurai: https://x.com/nuclearsamurai BRAINROT: https://verse.works/series/brainrot-by-nuclear-samurai

    57 min

  5. Apr 29

    sssluke and Brian Droitcour: New Bad Image

    00:18 - Welcome Brian Droitcour and sssluke 02:50 - Burnout and returning online 04:50 - Brian and the origins of Outland 07:54 - A mismatch in value systems and the importance of critique  10:03 - Outland's relaunch as a nonprofit 12:41 - How important are NFTs to digital art  15:46 - Why try to bridge different art worlds  21:11 - New Bad Image 22:27 - Evil Biscuit and the avant scene  25:51 - Trait Maxing, Mythmaking and the birth of new movements 29:10 - The meaning of New Bad Image 31:39 - Brian on schizocollage   35:37 - Rejecting the good image 39:04 - Curating a group show 42:00 - Emergent online culture 46:54 - Why subculture matters  50:27 - Where credibility comes from today 54:30 - Art as collectibles  56:29 - After the Art World and Drifella III 58:41 - The goal of New Bad Image  01:01:45 - Following a curatorial path  01:03:14 - Collaborating with Andreas Gysin  01:05:30 - The state of the space sssluke: https://x.com/sssluke1 Brian Droitcour: https://x.com/briandroitcour After the Art World: https://outlandart.substack.com/p/after-the-art-world-part-1  Brian's thread on schizocollage: https://x.com/briandroitcour/status/1932829548720369949

    1h 11m

  6. Apr 13

    Simon Hudson and Justin Gilanyi: cultural architecture, patronage and Art Basel Hong Kong

    00:30 - Welcome Simon Hudson and Justin Gilanyi  05:32 - Building cultural architecture   06:46 - How Justin and Simon met   10:33 - Art Basel Hong Kong group dynamics   11:55 - A collaborative mindset   12:47 - Comparing the energy in Miami and Hong Kong  14:58 - Botto installation lessons  18:54 - Pre-sales and fair prep   20:55 - New gallery models working with fairs    24:00 - Exposure costs and thinking long-term     29:26 - Focusing on patronage and support  31:20 - Adapting to the Art Basel environment  35:49 - New collectors, immersive work and tiered entry points  37:31 - The art world's multiple centres  39:25 - Jack Butcher's Work, Luck, Play  42:43 - Balancing online and physical worlds  44:44 - Fair economics and infrastructure  46:50 - Botto, CNN, and moving beyond the crypto space  51:30 - The Botto token and novel patronage models   53:25 - Strategy for future fairs   Justin Gilanyi: https://x.com/justingilanyi  Simon Hudson: https://x.com/hudsonsims

    1h 1m

  7. Mar 22

    Tabor Robak and Harvey Rayner: from Human Resources to Art Basel Hong Kong

    00:23 - Welcome Harvey Rayner and Tabor Robak 01:40 - Human Resources launch and mint-out 04:44 - Tabor's thoughts post-mint 07:00 - Organic growth, communication and momentum building 09:00 - First reactions: risk, confusion and conceptual clarity 11:00 - Roleplay, identity and embodying PFPs 13:00 - Timing, AI and why the project works now 15:00 - The state of PFP culture and shifting expectations 17:00 - Market dynamics and collecting behaviour 19:00 - Collecting as belief in the artist, not just the asset 21:00 - Risk, politics and performing identity online 23:00 - Narrative construction and PFPs as creative tools  28:00 - Clowns, anti-status and rejecting “cool” aesthetics 33:00 - Mr Happy and corporate ideology 34:30 - What's next for Human Resources? 35:00 - Tabcorp as an art company and long-term vision 37:00 - Expansion, tools and the limits of the ecosystem 39:00 - Gender, identity and ethical boundaries 42:00 - Harvey on ChatFUKR, PFP fatigue and lessons learned 45:00 - Community management, responsibility and burnout 47:00 - New collectors and shifting audience dynamics 49:00 - Phase two and sustaining long-term value 51:00 - Glitches, clones and technical refinement 53:00 - Subjective rarity, provenance and long-term meaning 56:00 - Maintaining momentum 58:00 - Balancing engagement with artistic practice 01:00:00 - Institutional context and gallery reception 01:01:50 - Harvey on Art Basel Hong Kong and physical work  01:04:30 - Translating digital practice into physical space 01:07:00 - Presentation, scale and audience perception 01:09:30 - Series mechanics and live minting  01:10:55 - Focusing on accessible art for a more traditional collector base  01:15:40 - The power of the modern print process  01:19:15 - Finding positivity amid market swings  01:22:55 - Social media and the politics of art   https://x.com/harvey_rayner  https://x.com/taborrobak  https://www.taborrobak.com  https://rayner.art

    1h 28m

  8. Feb 25

    Abigail Miller and Micol Ap: sustainability, growth and long-term thinking

    00:20 - Welcome Abigail Miller and Micol 01:07 - Micol’s journey into digital art and NFTs 02:20 - From corporate to crypto art 04:12 - Expectations and burnout 05:26 - Abigail’s background 06:26 - The Fulbright program, Russia and cultural diplomacy  09:32 - Crypto roots and art school 11:07 - Space struggles and growth 14:25 - Echo chamber and reset 18:46 - Financialization vs. experimentation 21:28 - Changes in identity, fame and cultural experience 23:54 - Art Basel Miami and Zero10  27:11 - The missing middle ground for artists 30:53 - Avant Arte operations 36:01 - Artists, curators and different value propositions 40:41 - Industry challenges behind the scenes  41:33 - Vertical’s hard lessons 45:10 - Building in public 45:36 - Feeling on the periphery of the community 47:46 - Women going quiet 49:18 - Social media burnout 56:09 - Beyond Twitter, IRLs and mailing lists  58:09 - Why female artists tend to be under represented   01:06:05 - Bro culture and access 01:10:24 - Sustainability and long-term thinking  01:12:37 - Women supporting women 01:22:03 - Checks, balances and ensuring growth  https://x.com/micolmicolmicol  https://x.com/proofofgail https://x.com/avant_arte

    1h 25m
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Ratings & Reviews

3.9
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Discussing the latest news in digital art with Leyla Fakhr and Jamie Gourlay.

Information

  • Creator
    Verse
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    88
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Verse Talks
  • Show Website
    Verse Talks

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