“BitMON began as a simple experiment in character and constraint. Small portraits built from a limited visual language, each one slightly different and carrying its own quiet personality.

For Art Basel Hong Kong, the project shifts into a physical form. Instead of living only on screens, these BitMONs appear as collectible cards that can be discovered, held, and exchanged. Each pack contains a single BitMON encounter, either an editioned work or a unique one. Inside the pack is also a corresponding NFC card that connects the physical object to its digital presence.

Part of this project is rooted in nostalgia. When I was young, I would often ride along with my father during his late-night pizza delivery routes. At the end of the night we would sometimes stop at a gas station and I would pick out a pack of trading cards. I was completely obsessed with a monster-catching game whose world was built from small sprite artworks. Tiny pixel portraits that somehow held entire personalities inside them. Opening those packs felt like uncovering small mysteries.

BitMON carries that same spirit of discovery. Each pack introduces a moment of chance where the work reveals itself only after the object is in your hands. Some encounters are editioned and others are completely unique, but the experience begins the same way. A sealed object and the curiosity of what might be inside.

The NFC pairing extends that idea further by linking the physical card to a digital counterpart. The card becomes both artifact and key, something tangible that unlocks a parallel space where the work continues to live.

BitMON has always been about subtle differences and quiet encounters. In this format those encounters take on a new dimension, merging childhood rituals, digital culture, and physical objects into a small moment of discovery.”