Multi-hyphenate Maxim of groundbreaking electronic music outfit The Prodigy has cultivated a broad breadth of work as a mixed-media artist in multiple lanes. Accomplished as a sculptor, painter and craftsman with ceramics, MM (Double M) has earned a following for not only his musical contributions but his personal triumphs as a multi-dimensional artist.
For Maxim's latest venture, the creator is traversing into the digital space with the introduction of his Lepidopterror Collection - a curated showcase of digital collectibles all featuring a series of butterflies adorning skulls and brandishing heavy weaponry. The collection reiterates Maxim's stylistic signature that finds a balance of the serene and the sinister.
The NFT collection arrives via Crypto.com/NFT in collaboration with innovative Web3 platform Snowcrash and is set to land on Wednesday, July 27. The release touts some 888 still images divided up into four categories of butterflies. Consisting of 50 Royal Butterflies, 50 Warrior Butterflies, and 50 Worker Butterflies, the remaining 738 images of butterflies are Citizens. They all belong to the eldest family of butterflies, the Lepidopterrors, and have their role to play in defending the magical Golden Pollen from the Clown Wasps.
The concept dates back to 2009, when Maxim revisited a childhood memory of an ad that stuck with him for years, prompting a bigger narrative. The advertisement depicted a young girl running through a cornfield, waving a net as she tried to catch an elegant butterfly. As an adult and artist, Maxim envisioned a new angle, one that transformed the delicate nature of a butterfly into that of a creature with the ability to fend off it's prey. Maxim cultivated the concept with the mindset, “What would it be like if I armed that butterfly?”
In addition to his achievements as a groundbreaking contributor to The Prodigy, Maxim has found inspiration visually in the works of special effects creator Ray Harryhausen as well as venerated artists H.R. Giger, MC Escher and Hieronymus Bosch. Tapping into boundless creativity and artist freedom without restraint, Maxim's bold new move into the metaverse is predicated by a simple framing that Maxim explains, “The one thing I've learned about art is there aren’t really mistakes in art, are there?” he punctuates.
The “Lepidopterror Collection” NFT collection via Crypto.com and Snowcrash arrives Wednesday, July 27th - HERE
