A Wild NFT of Madonna Giving Birth to Robot Centipedes

We’re not the first to admit that most celebrity-branded NFT drops often lack artistic vigor and feel like shallow cash-grabs, but Madonna is proving us wrong. The pop superstar, whose recent purchase of a Bored Ape signaled somewhat of a late arrival to the crypto-party, has characteristically landed in Web3 with a bang by teaming up with Beeple to create one of the most shocking NFT series since crypto art exploded onto the scene. Called “Mother of Creation,” it features a triptych of digitally rendered videos that portray her naked avatar birthing a blooming tree, a swarm of butterflies, and robot centipedes in fantastical settings. Each is paired with poetry: some Madonna’s own, others by mystic poet Rumi. 

The series, which will be auctioned for charity through SuperRare starting today, is the fruit of a year-long collaboration between two career provocateurs who are both credited with breaking barriers in their respective industries. The softcore porn visuals in Madonna’s polarizing Sex book, released one day after her equally controversial 1992 album Erotica, took the world by surprise but remains history’s fastest-selling coffee table book and is widely regarded as a bold post-feminist opus. Beeple, meanwhile, almost single-handedly popularized the NFT market through the $69 million sale of a digital collage last year at Christie’s. 

“When Mike [Beeple] and I decided to collaborate on this project a year ago, I was excited to have the opportunity to share my vision of the world as a mother and an artist with Mike’s own unique point of view,” Madonna says. “It’s been an amazing journey building this from an intellectual idea to an emotional story, giving birth to art. I wanted to investigate the concept of creation, not only the way a child enters the world through a woman’s vagina, but also the way an artist gives birth to creativity. Most importantly, we wanted to use this opportunity to benefit mothers and children who are most in need right now.”

Proceeds from the NFT sales will benefit three nonprofits that support women and children: the Voices of Children Foundation, the City of Joy Foundation, and Black Mama’s Bail Out. The sale arrives at a tricky time for the NFT market, which has posted a steep 92 percent decrease in transactions compared to this time last year. The hype around NFTs may be slowing down, but unexpected collaborations like this suggest the space still has much more artistic ground to cover. “I never want to be provocative for the sake of provocation,” Madonna says about her newborn butterflies and centipedes, which represent “hope and technology.” Anyone else getting a Red Woman from Game of Thrones vibe?