Robin Friend was born in London in 1983, but spent most of his childhood growing up in Melbourne, Australia. He now lives in the town of Lewes with his family, Seren, Dusty and Rocco. He has a BA from the University of Plymouth and an MA from the Royal College of Art.

 was published by Loose Joints in 2018. In the same year he collaborated with Wayne McGregor to create and direct 

 for BBC Live - an audacious dance dramatisation of the journey of the National Gallery’s art collection during the second world war.

Friend’s work has been exhibited in galleries and fairs globally ranging from Aperture Gallery in New York to the Pingyao Photography Festival in China, Christies in Paris and at the National Gallery, Somerset House and the Royal Academy of Arts in London. His work has been collected by the Martin Parr Foundation as well as private collections around the world.

The London update was a great historical event for the Ethereum Network, and we had to create something timeless and harmonious with Ethereum’s general aesthetic.

Please Mind the Gas⛽

Issue #47 was published on Sunday, August 8, 2021, week 31 of the year. The beautiful illustration was created by Dudly and it became one of our top covers very quickly.

The London update was a great historical event for the Ethereum Network, and we had to create something timeless and harmonious with Ethereum’s general aesthetic. The ETH crystal logo sits dominantly over the station and is backed by two London landmarks: the Gherkin (the phallic-shaped building), and the London Eye wheel. The train splits from the main line and we can see the conductor is Vitalik. The station’s gate is conveniently named Fork Gate. The block number on the top shows when the split happened. 
If observed closely, you can make out even more references: the people all have “tx” on them, “WormNFT” can be seen on the walls of the station, plus numerous graffiti pieces, including Xcopy, a rocket, an alien punk, and of course our AB claw machine. 

We have been referencing our previous covers in many other covers for a lot of issues, finding them and recognising them is an easter egg for our biggest fans!
During week 31 we talked about some of Xcopy’s earlier work which we dubbed “The Lost Xcopys,” a name that stuck with the community. We also presented the worm project (Praise be!), Proof of Beauty Studios dropped the London NFT, and we had a look at some mind-blowing NFT sales.
What an incredible and historic week for our niche space! We’re positive that people in the future will look back and wonder what it was like to be alive when these historic events took place.

The ArtDrop for issue #47 was “Land’s End” by the world famous photographer Robin Friend. His works have been exhibited at the National Gallery, Somerset House & Royal Academy of Arts in London; Aperture Gallery in NY; Christies Paris; and held in Museum Collections around the world.

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Land's End

Artdrop #47