FIRSTEDITION.XYZ, Issue #5: [Portraits by Various Artists]

luluxxX, yrdgz, Sarah Zucker, Xemrind & more.

Portraits are slippery rabbitholes into the souls of characters, both real and imagined, conveying depth and emotion in the most fundamentally humans of ways. When combined with digital media, the language of portraits blooms into a multifarious design space. In this issue, we showcase a wide variety of portrait works, new and old, from the FIRSTEDITION.XYZ collection.

“un rayo de Sol” by luluxxX

“self.” by yrdgz

This work presents the viewer with a surprising and unnerving duality that is as absurd as it is sharply in focus. Through a creative digital manipulation, the subject is reduced down from flesh into a cardboard cutout, connoting tension, subjugation, and angst. On April 30th, 2019, “self.” became the creator @yrdgz’s first collected piece.

“Sicker Than Yer Average” by Otha Davis III

A sense of chromesthesia prevades this museum-exhibited artist Otha Davis III’s indulgent portraits of pop culture icons. This rendition of Biggie’s famous gaze is one of the most universally recognizable in the series.

“Videornacia” by Sarah Zucker

“Alive X” by Xemrind

This work by 3D cryptoartist Xemrind is a nuanced reflection, both raytraced and philosophical, of our binary human states.

“Crown” by Baba

“Shower Tower” by luluxxX

We are invited into playful anticipation as luluxXX’s affinity for portraits takes a kittenish turn in “shower tower”. What are we waiting for, and what will come next?

“Cyanide Blue” by Parrot_Ism

“Charles” by luluxxX

Human or machine? The eyes of “Charles” remind us of the haunting disparity between metal and flesh, necessity and desire, and life and death.

“Warren Buffett” by raregadot

These portraits explore the contour, the frontier, and the fringe of the iconic figure. Each influencer has his own memetics, but is structurally the same, highlighting that there is a craft in idolatry.