IMPORTANT: to test the artwork (and its 512 combinations) please click on the "TEST ARTWORK" button or go to this link: https://www.tonycorocher.com/nft-digitalart/asyncart/portraits-of-strength/

DESCRIPTION: Documentary Photography meets Illustration thanks to Technology. Could this be a new way of story telling?

This NFT programmable artwork was born from the collaboration between Tony Corocher and George Boya. We decided to start from one of Tony’s award winning photo essays and to combine the "Reality" of photography with the "Surreal" of George's illustration/collage art.

We selected "PORTRAITS OF STRENGTH: Ethnic Women in North Vietnam" (original photo essay here: https://www.tonycorocher.com/portraits-of-strength-women-in-ethnic-vietnam/). We both agreed that the theme, the images, the colors and the possible combinations were ideal for programmable art and for what was boiling in our minds. But, the main reasons why we chose this essay was the message that came with it: these women live in rural areas up in the mountains of North Vietnam, frequently in very hard conditions and with very little help. When I was there I was struck by the strength and perseveration they showed, by their collaborative efforts and by their calmness... so I decided to spend a couple of weeks in the area, meet with a few people, get to know them and listen to their stories.

With George's mesmerising illustrations we took it a step further by introducing a possible future in which technology and decentralisation will be able to help these women directly, without any middle man or government interference.

So I got into the original 15 photos, broke each one down into 3 parts (main subject, secondary subject and background) to see what was working and what was not. I ended up with 12 States (4 in each Layer). Then George worked his magic by creating another 12 states where his illustrations overtake the original images while keeping it real and connected with the original photos.

We ended up with 1 MASTER, 3 LAYERS and 8 STATES per layer (for a total of 512 possible combinations). It was a fun, enjoyable and very interesting collaboration and it produced an artwork with a distinct and important message behind: THE STRENGTH OF THESE WOMEN AND THE POSSIBILITIES OFFERED BY TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE THEIR LIVES.

The original Photo Essay won the following Awards:

• PX3 Gran Prix De La Photographie, Paris: Honorable Mention. 2015 https://www.tonycorocher.com/px3-gran-prix-de-la-photographie-paris-2015-third-place-2-honorable-mentions/

• IPA Oneshot Competition: Honorable Mention. 2016 "Family of Man” (International Photography Awards – Los Angeles). https://www.tonycorocher.com/ipa-2016-oneshot-competition-family-of-man/