An unceasing digital sculpture, a self-rewriting virtual painting. There are many ways to describe the latest NFT series 'Cycles' from the digital art studio Material Protocol Arts, but most methods fail to accurately describe it.
That's the point; most artworks remain unchanged once completed, but 'Cycles' is just the opposite.
It exists on the Ethereum blockchain and moves, transforms, and changes itself through code.
This means it does not run on gallery servers and does not rely on updates from the artist; its on-chain address resides within an unstoppable system made up of 512 independent components called 'lenses', each running its own simulation.
Once collectors own the artwork, they can freeze the lens, locking it into place, but unlocking it afterward depends on rules that have not yet been fully disclosed.
The system makes 'Cycles' what its creators call 'hyper-sculptures', which are programmable and can connect multiple related works. The project does not view art as a single image but as an ongoing process, where the artwork itself is actually a system that creates, records, and preserves the motion that changes over time.
To understand the intentions behind 'Cycles', we interviewed two team members from Material Protocol Arts, Matto and Neokry, who explained how 'Cycles' was created, why Ethereum is so important, and what it means to build a never-ending sculpture.
OpenSea: Can you briefly share your background and what motivated you to co-found Material Protocol Arts?
Matto: I have been involved in some form of artistic work for about 20 years, having long served as an electronic musician, running an underground electronic music label, releasing records, and primarily touring in Europe. I also worked in video game development for several years, where I learned programming skills.
Three or four years ago, when the NFT movement was just emerging, I began delving into crypto art, which is a winding, multidisciplinary path. My brother Seaweed and I collaborated on several projects in the NFT space, including a video game/art project called Night Run. When we started creating Cycles, we knew it needed a strong smart contract component.
I met Neokry in a computer art introductory course taught by Professor 113 on Mathcastles Discord. We met in Tokyo two years ago. I knew he was an excellent smart contract engineer, and I reached out to him, saying, 'Hey, we have this project.' We had discussed collaborating in the past, and he was looking for a long-term, studio-based collaboration, which led the three of us to establish Material Protocol Arts.
OpenSea: How did you and Seaweed start collaborating?
Matto: Seaweed is actually my brother in real life, so I've known him my whole life. I'm older than him, so I've known him for a long time. He has worked with me on previous NFT projects, and we entered the NFT space at the same time, learning together over the past four years.
OpenSea: What attracts you to the intersection of technology, art, and crypto?
Matto: I have always believed that technology is a powerful force for sparking creativity. Someone once called the computer a 'bicycle for the mind', enabling you to do things you couldn't do before.
When I started making music, I was still in film school, but I realized how difficult and expensive filmmaking is as an artistic medium. The people I worked for were wealthy and could fund their projects, while I realized that was impossible for me.
On the other hand, music is something I can create with a computer and minimal equipment. This was the moment to achieve that; I can distribute my music, even to a small group of loyal listeners.
Cryptocurrency has elevated this independent DIY model to a whole new level, allowing artists to truly be independent - to create the work they want, sell it, and interact directly with collectors, contrasting with the YouTube influencer model, where you need millions of views to earn a little financial return.
With NFTs, you can have 250 dedicated collectors and fund a project for a year, which is a reversal of platform capitalism that empowers creators.
Of course, cryptocurrency has its downsides: volatility, fraud, and uncertainty, but I believe this is one of the best opportunities for artists today.
OpenSea: How has this concept influenced the way you handle relationships with collectors?
Matto: Cultivating a collector base is foundational for independence. If you sell through a gallery, many of your collectors belong to the gallery's audience. If you get kicked out of the gallery, you lose contact with those people.
With NFTs, you can establish direct relationships with collectors. At Material Protocol Arts, Seaweed handles many of the collector relationships, which takes time but is crucial. That's why we built as a studio rather than as individual artists - so we can balance the creative and community aspects.
OpenSea: Let's talk about 'Cycles'. What inspired this project?
Matto: 'Cycles' is a dynamically computed moving abstract sculpture on the Ethereum blockchain, consisting of 512 independent 'lenses' representing NFT tokens. These elements compute on Ethereum and are presented using JavaScript and P5JS.
A key inspiration came from Mathcastles' 'Terraforms', which opened up a dialogue about dynamic computation in on-chain artworks. We wanted to participate in this dialogue and extend this idea. Since Neokry and I met through the Mathcastles Discord, there is a natural continuity between these projects.
'Cycles' central theme is time and change. The blockchain acts as a one-way, write-only ledger, essentially creating history. We view Ethereum as a venue for artistic creation, betting that it will exist for hundreds of years, just as New York has been a cultural center for over 400 years. In the future, Ethereum may even be preserved solely as an art platform.
OpenSea: Neokry, how has your technical background contributed to 'Cycles'?
Neokry: I focus on the deep technical aspects, particularly Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) smart contracts. I wrote the smart contracts for Cycles, including 3D computations. We had to write our own 3D simulation code in Solidity to achieve precise rotations and matrix calculations.
One of the goals is to make 'Cycles' highly interactive. We no longer use JavaScript to compute actions but put everything on the EVM, allowing people to build their own interfaces on our sculptures, enabling collectors and developers to create their own generative art experiences using our data.
OpenSea: What has been the biggest creative or technical challenge in developing Cycles?
Neokry: Doing 3D computations in Solidity is highly challenging because very few projects have dealt with on-chain 3D work before. We had to adopt JavaScript libraries and rewrite them in Solidity to ensure the contracts could accurately compute motion.
However, our efforts have been rewarded, as now others can use our data to interpret the sculpture in their own way.
Matto: Another challenge is ensuring the project is not just a technical feat but has artistic significance. In creating art, there is an unconscious drive behind it. Since we are working as a team, we must clearly express what we want to convey.
We spent a lot of time refining our concept. We rewrote the 'Cycles' artistic paper five to seven times before we felt we captured its essence.
OpenSea: You both mentioned the contradiction between 'Cycles' and eternity. Can you elaborate on that?
Matto: There was a period in the 20th century when art became immaterial, with sculptures shifting from bronze and stone to more ephemeral and conceptual forms. Artists no longer created concrete objects. With this distributed world computer sculpture, we can claim its longevity or durability, which is a return to a desire for eternity, but there exists a tension, a paradox within a dematerialized crypto-economic world, and that is what we are striving to address.
OpenSea: This is interesting because historically, permanence is closely tied to physical materials. For a long time, people believed that materiality meant more permanence. If it is made of stone, then it is carved in stone - it is permanent. However, when I see a stone statue at the Metropolitan Museum, I cannot immediately tell you its provenance or identity. It is not accessible from anywhere, globally or digitally. In contrast, the fleeting world of digital data suddenly seems to become a more permanent record, which is truly fascinating.
Matto: Yes, it's interesting. I think the essence of the blockchain, being both a powerful recording device and a computer, makes it significant for art history. I feel it is natural; people are just beginning to embrace this idea.
OpenSea: You also mentioned that Ethereum is a venue for long-term artistic creation. How does that relate to the concept of eternity?
Matto: The blockchain, from a certain perspective, is a one-way, write-only ledger. It is a recording device that creates history, so using it as a venue for artistic creation with the hope that Ethereum can exist here for hundreds of years adds another layer of permanence, just as New York has existed for 400 years. We believe Ethereum may exist here for 400 years or more. One way cities become important is through art.
Putting art on Ethereum may mean that in the future, even if Ethereum is no longer a useful financial platform, it may still exist as an art platform because people like Mathcastles and ourselves wish to place art on Ethereum, ensuring that museums will preserve it.
OpenSea: For those interested in collecting after reading this, what is the best approach?
Neokry: The minting is complete, but you can now purchase on the secondary market. The best way to contact us is through DM, whether on the Material Protocol Arts page, Matto's Twitter account, or my account. The contact form on our website also works, but DMs are usually the most convenient for people.
OpenSea: Can you introduce me to the timeline and mechanism of the original minting?
Neokry: We started using an invitation system for peer-to-peer sales. We established a process to reach out to collectors or have them contact us, and then we talk directly. After the conversation, if we feel it's appropriate, we create a personalized minting page for them. Once they click the link, they can mint one to three pieces from the collection.
When they mint, they receive a soul-bound NFT representing their invitation to mint 'Cycles'. All invitations were claimed around mid-December, and we gave people a few weeks to wrap things up. We deployed everything and opened the claims in early January.
Collectors can then receive their complete NFTs, but we do not force them to claim immediately. Some people naturally come to claim their works, while about 20 pieces remain unclaimed. Some collectors have not realized the claims are open, and others do not want to reveal their works.
We love playing with social dynamics, cultivating a base of collectors is important for us, and face-to-face sales help us have direct conversations with collectors to ensure they have a deeper understanding of the artworks.
OpenSea: What are the next steps for Material Protocol Arts?
Neokry: We are developing a new project that can further enhance interactivity. Our goal is to build on the ideas within 'Cycles', including chain-based sculptures and interactive mechanisms, but to elevate them to a new level. We can't reveal too much yet, but it's going to be exciting.
OpenSea: We can't wait. Thank you so much for your time today.
Neokry: Thank you, you too.
View the series of NFTs on OpenSea:
opensea.io/collection/cycles-by-material-protocol-arts
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