Joan Cornellà project apologises over NFT’s confusion with Hong Kong’s ‘King of Comedy’ Stephen Chow
- Hong Kong-based Fwenclub released an NFT image that is said to resemble Stephen Chow’s character in a 1994 comedy, a likeness that the project said was a “misbelief”
- The “MOAR by Joan Cornellà” collection was ranked top by 24-hour trading volume on NFT marketplace OpenSea on Monday
A non-fungible token (NFT) project started by a Hong Kong company has apologised after a digital collectible it issued was said to resemble the lead character in a movie directed by and starring home-grown comedian Stephen Chow Sing-chi.
The image, created by Spanish artist Joan Cornellà, resembled the lead character in Chow’s 1994 comedy From Beijing with Love. Any resemblance was a “misbelief,” said the project’s creator Fwenclub.
The image was created along with a collection of 5,555 NFTs designed by Cornellà, who is known for his dark and surreal sense of humour. On Monday, the collection, named “MOAR by Joan Cornellà”, was ranked top by global 24-hour trading volume on NFT marketplace OpenSea.
“Fwenclub would like to clarify that MOAR by Joan Cornellà is a collaboration between the artist and Fwenclub, which does not involve Stephen Chow at all,” the company said in a blog post. “The artwork that some found resemblance to the likeness of Chow is a gift from the artist towards Chow’s private collection.”
Fwenclub issued a statement on April 8, apologising to Gala for causing “inconvenience and the misbelief” that the image was associated with Chow’s movie.
In a live audio discussion between Fwenclub and Chow in March, the filmmaker, 59, suggested that he receive from the team the NFT featuring his likeness as a gift, according to local media reports.
