In Brief:
- On Aug. 11, ThankYouX kicked off the mint for “Doom Scroll,” 256 one-of-one video pieces released through OpenSea.
- Priced on Ethereum, the paid allowlist and the public phase each cost $481.85, and the public window shuts on Aug. 24 at 5 p.m. UTC.
- Every clip starts as the artist’s own social feeds, captured live and then data moshed until the footage fell apart.
Minting for “Doom Scroll” went live Aug. 11. The collection gathers 256 one-of-one video works, each built from footage of scrolling captured in real time.
Three stages structure the Ethereum drop. First came a free creator reserve allowlist at 3:45 p.m. UTC, limited to six per wallet. At 4 p.m. UTC a paid allowlist opened at $481.85, with a four-per-wallet cap. One hour after that, the public stage began at the same price, allowing eight per wallet, and it runs until Aug. 24 at 5 p.m. UTC.
"Doom Scroll" by @ThankYouX is live!
256 one-of-one video artworks capturing real-time doom scrolling were fed through data moshing and feedback loops until the noise became signal.
AL phase can mint now@OpenSeaView on X ↗
News of the allowlist opening came from OpenSea’s account on X. “‘Doom Scroll’ by @ThankYouX is live!” the marketplace wrote. “256 one-of-one video artworks capturing real-time doom scrolling were fed through data moshing and feedback loops until the noise became signal. AL phase can mint now”
What’s in the files
All 256 entries take the form of a single video, and the collection page states that none of them share composition, motion or texture with another.
Destruction was the point of the method. After capturing feed footage, ThankYouX ran it through data moshing — corrupting compression data on purpose so frames bleed into each other — and stacked feedback loops over the result.
The statement
According to the collection’s accompanying text, the work grew out of a breaking point: the realization that “the algorithm had become a curator nobody asked for.” What fills the feeds, the text argues, is material “designed to trap attention, not reward it.”
Logging off wasn’t his answer. Instead he recorded the scroll, tore it apart and reassembled the wreckage as art.
Early numbers
During the public stage, a snapshot recorded 43 of the 256 works minted by 30 wallets, alongside a top offer of $338.95 and total volume near $16,900. In that same window, OpenSea’s drops listing showed the mint price around $480.08, since the dollar amount moves with ETH.
Qualifying NFT holdings determine who gets allowlist access.
Background
Behind ThankYouX is Ryan Wilson, a product of the Los Angeles graffiti scene. He blanketed the city in 2009 with spray paint stencils of Andy Warhol, signing “Thank You X” beneath them — “Thank You” for Warhol, the X standing in for anonymity. That tag turned into his name.
London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Hong Kong have all hosted his paintings and sculpture, and Snapchat selected him to paint its Los Angeles offices. His collector list includes Paul McCartney and Zedd, and his commercial work spans Snapchat, Samsung and Adidas.
He entered NFTs in 2020 through a collaboration with generative artist Michael Kozlowski and the With Foundation. The pair reunited in December 2021 for SUBTRACTION, a generative set of 512 pieces. Another project, STATE OF THE ART, carved four large-scale paintings into 400 tiles apiece, yielding 1,600 digital works with physical counterparts.
In Beverly Hills, Sotheby’s Los Angeles hosted his solo show “inertia” from Nov. 28 to Dec. 20, 2023. His work has also appeared at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.
Following a 2022 Sotheby’s auction in London, he used part of the proceeds to buy CryptoPunk #4974.