A critique of the destructive excesses of late-stage capitalism and art world commodification, specifically through the lens of NFTs and their environmental impact – NFTs mainly operate on the blockchain of the cryptocurrency Ethereum, whose current annual energy consumption is about equivalent to the power used by the entire Netherlands. The Bored Ape, situated in a world literally on fire, embodies the apathy and denial that so inflame the climate crisis.

The painstaking, hand-painted minutiae is antithetical to the mass-produced, algorithmic generation of the Bored Ape NFT cartoons. I wanted the semi-realistic ape to be uncomfortable to look at, evoking something akin to an uncanny valley effect, forcing the viewer to consider the actual apes living in the actual rainforest being destroyed in the name of these commodified ape JPEGs.