"Manaia" is an 1/1 NFT of an IRL carved painting by Dom Baker. The image is generated by AI via Midjourney and is an exploration of Baker's Māori and Croatian ancestry in the Web3 world.

The original painting is painted by hand on wooden frame (30cm round) then details of her hair are carved in a similar style to woodblock printmaking. Caran D'ache watercolour pastels are then used to add colour to the etched markings. Such technique is used to liken the process similar to Māori tā moko (body tattoo) whereby small needles are tapped into the skin and ink from natural pigments like burnt kahikatea which are then fused into the skin.

The AI prompts used to generate the image reference are simple but mark Baker's entry in to the unknown world of AI.
"Maori girl profile looking right blue hues full body traditional croatian dress" -13Jan23

NFT sale is separate from the physical painting.

Thank you for your support! #forevergrateful