ASSHAI - 9 SINGLE EDITION AUCTIONS
"Asshai" is a series of images about the unseen stories of George R.R. Martin's "The World of Ice and Fire". Since season 2 Game of Thrones artist Sven Sauer worked for the HBO series and developed places like Dragonstone, Harrenhal or Kings Landing.
A lot of places of the world of George R. R. Martin were revealed in „Game of Thrones“ over the past years. Now, the picture series "Asshai" shows those stories that were mentioned in the series - but never shown.
All pictures are inspired and created in cooperation with co-author of the „World of ice and fire“
Elio M. García and there site:
With this auction of Asshai artworks, the artists want to implement an exhibition. The entrance should be free for all fans. The proceeds of the auction will cover the fixed costs. Each collector makes it possible that the exhibition sees the light of day. You can find more info at the end of the page.
THE SHIPPING BOX FROM ESSOS
9 artwork appear in an edition 1/1 as NFT.
Every NFT includes a physical token:
• An animated picture behind glas with a hand-cut passepartout. The frame is signed by the artist.
• A papersheet of the Asshai map
• The original graphic tablet mine I used for the painting
• Every artwork has it´s own original soundtrack produced only for this painting (duration around 9 minutes)
• Steel wallet certificate with Token ID
My profession has a cinematic background. The artwork perform best in a dark room, with a pair of headphones and in full screen mode to see all the details.
Let your imagination flow while watching.
ABOUT ASSHAI - THE DARK CITY
The fringes of the Unknown World are the most fascinating of all. The legends of Asshai by the Shadow, concealed behind a black curtain of rumors: Asshai has existed since the beginning of time, but only very few have ever reached the
shores beyond Jade Sea. Those who have braved such an odyssey report nothing of the distant city except a swallowing darkness. They say that black covers the streets, buildings, and walls, traveling from the harbor, past the inner district, and into the shadowlands. Asshai is not just the most captivating
place in all the World of Ice and Fire, but it is without a doubt the most sinister.
Barely any other region is as inhospitable, and hardly anything grows from its unforgiving ground. The city’s all-encompassing blackness saps all energy from the light’s rays, which dries up any vegetation. Maester Yandel found excellent words when he wrote that Asshai’s massive city walls could encompass Volantis, Qarth, and King’s Landing, and still have room for Oldtown.
But However large the city truly is, its number of inhabitants is comparatively low. Asshai by the Shadows contains no crowds. There is no hustle and bustle in the marketplaces, and people keep to themselves. The Asshai’i wear masks or veils
that conceal their faces from outsiders’ view.
There is no sound of children playing in the streets. In fact, there are no children at all in Asshai.
The menacing dark city is actually a place of sorcery. Asshai represents an aspect of this world that is most often hidden from view. Sorcerers, alchemists, moonsingers, warlocks, bloodmages, necromancers, and all other practitioners of the arcane arts, roam the greasy dark streets. Some of the magic is not even found in the Citadel’s scrolls. The largest known magical group is the red priests, followers of the god R’hllor. Melisandre, the longtime supporter of Stannis
Baratheon, comes from Asshai, the dark city on the Jade sea.
Text by Alper Turfan at Cinema strikes Back - Asshai by the Shadows.
Based on the book „The world of Ice and fire“ by George R. R. Martin, Elio Garcia and Linda Antonsson.
ARTWORKS
SIGNAL FIRE by SVEN SAUER & MATJAZ KRIVIC
TITLE: SIGNAL FIRE
EDITION : 1/1 + PHYSICAL TOKEN
COLLECTION: ASSHAI
CREATED: 02/1/21
TOKEN ID: 000000000
THIS WORK IS UNIQUE
YEAR 75 AC
IN COLLABORATION WITH MATJAZ KRIVIC
RESOLUTION: 4556 x 2160
SOUNDTRACK BY JULIAN LAPPING
ARTIST NOTES:
At night, guiding lights perch on the city's tallest towers to direct ships.
Upon closer inspection, one realizes that the fires are funeral pyres.
More background information on this story?
This clip from "Lucifer means Lightbringer" is about the background and origins of Asshai. For those who want to learn more about the origins of the dark places of The song of Ice and Fire.... Highly recommended...
Length: 37 minutes
Language: English
ASSHAI'I by SVEN SAUER & MATJAZ KRIVIC
TITLE: ASSHAI'I
EDITION : 1/1 + PHYSICAL TOKEN
YEAR 75 AC
CREATED: 02/1/21
TOKEN ID: 000000000
THIS WORK IS UNIQUE
IN COLLABORATION WITH MATJAZ KRIVIC
RESOLUTION: 4556 x 2160
SOUNDTRACK BY JULIAN LAPPING
ARTIST NOTES:
Masked inhabitants of Asshai. The eyes are dark and full of tears.
More background information on this story?
XXX
Length: 00 minutes
Language: English
WESTEROS.ORG FEATURE
TEMPLE OF R'HLLOR by SVEN SAUER
TITLE: TEMPLE OF R'HLLOR
EDITION : 1/1 + PHYSICAL TOKEN
CREATED: 02/1/21
TOKEN ID: 000000000
THIS WORK IS UNIQUE
IN COLLABORATION WITH ALEX MINK
COLLECTION: ASSHAI
RESOLUTION: 3840 x 2160
SOUNDTRACK BY JULIAN LAPPING
YEAR 75 AC
ARTIST NOTES:
In this design, the TEMPLE OF R'HLLOR is not a gigantic temple as expected. It looks more like a shrine, set deep into the ground, with stairs leading down into the darkness.
On good days, this shrine is the only spot in the whole city that gets a ray of sunlight through the thick cloud cover.
The temple looks like a massive foundation. Ancient cities are literally built on top of each other. Each wall is followed by another. In Jerusalem there are already several cities on top of each other. The TEMPLE OF R'HLLOR shows with the foundation how long it goes back in time.... to the origins of the city.
The visible part of the shrine has the shape that is also found on Melisandre's necklace.
More background information on this story?
XXX
Length: 43 minutes
Language: English
Melisandres Secret FEATURE
RED PRIESTESSES by Sven Sauer & Igor Posavec & Chelsea Ariew
TITLE: RED PRIESTESSES
EDITION : 1/1 + PHYSICAL TOKEN
COLLECTION: ASSHAI
CREATED: 02/1/21
THIS WORK IS UNIQUE
SOUNDTRACK BY: JULIAN LAPPING
RESOLUTION: 4556 x 2160
ARTIST NOTES:
In this image I wanted to show what power a whole army of red priestesses can have.
The smoke from hundreds of pyres darken the sky. I found inspiration for these images in the photographs of Steve McCurry, who photographed burning oil wells in Kuwauít in 1991.
These fires were so massive that they turned bright day into pitch black night.
A red light shines through the dark clouds of smoke. The image leaves unclear whether the light is the sun or a red comet....
More background information on this story?
Co-authors Elio and Linda talk about black magic in The song of ice and fire and Melisandre of Asshai in this feature.
Background info straight from the authors :)
Length: 43 minutes
Language: English
GOLD ROAD by Sven Sauer
TITLE: GOLD ROAD
EDITION : 1/1 + PHYSICAL TOKEN
COLLECTION: ASSHAI
CREATED: 02/1/21
THIS WORK IS UNIQUE
SOUNDTRACK BY: JULIAN LAPPING
RESOLUTION: 4556 x 2160
ARTIST NOTES:
The only thing that seems to be abundant in the Shadowlands is gold.
This is also the reason why so many seek out this place to trade.
Since animals die after a short time in Asshai, the gold must be brought by foot from the Shadowlands to the coast.
To penetrate the constant darkness, the porters carry candles to light the way. The caravan moves through the darkness like a glowing string of pearls.
More background information on this story?
XXX
Length: 00 minutes
Language: English
civilisationX FEATURE
SHADOWLANDS by Sven Sauer
TITLE: SHADOWLANDS
EDITION : 1/1 + PHYSICAL TOKEN
COLLECTION: ASSHAI
CREATED: 02/1/21
TOKEN ID: 000000000
THIS WORK IS UNIQUE
YEAR 75 AC
SOUNDTRACK BY: JULIAN LAPPING
RESOLUTION: 4556 x 2160
ARTIST NOTES:
"People see what they want to see":
The landscape of the Shadowlands is dark and hostile to people. The stone is jet black - the mountains look burnt. Inspiration are the cliffs of Na Palie on Hawai.
In the darkness, the pointed rocks look like dragon's teeth.
The painting "Shadowlands" plays precisely with this illusion. For a short time a sleeping dragon becomes visible in the landscape, which then turns back into a mountain. The picture plays with the projection of the viewer, with the rumors that the dragons have their origin in this place.
More background information on this story?
The bridge4 channel gives an exciting take on the subject of Asshai, dark magic and Melisandre. How much should we distrust our own thoughts?
Length: 14 minutes
Language: English
SHADOW MEN by Sven Sauer & Igor Posavec
TITLE: SHADOW MEN
EDITION : 1/1 + PHYSICAL TOKEN
COLLECTION: ASSHAI
CREATED: 02/1/21
TOKEN ID: 000000000
THIS WORK IS UNIQUE
YEAR 75 AC
SOUNDTRACK BY: JULIAN LAPPING
RESOLUTION: 4556 x 2160
ARTIST NOTES:
Masked figures that appear briefly in the red flashes of Shadowland.
The tatoos tell dark stories.
More background information on this story?
Sven Sauer und AlperIn this video, Sven Sauer and Alper Turfan from Cinema Strikes Back talk about the creation of the Lonely Lights picture and which original locations were the inspiration for it.
Length: 11 minutes
Language: German
LONELY LIGHT by SVEN SAUER & ALEX MINK
TITLE: LONELY LIGHT
EDITION : 1/1 + PHYSICAL TOKEN
COLLECTION: ASSHAI
CREATED: 02/1/21
TOKEN ID: 000000000
THIS WORK IS UNIQUE
YEAR 75 AC
IN COLLABORATION WITH ALEX MINK
RESOLUTION: 3840 x 2160
SOUNDTRACK BY JULIAN LAPPING
IN COOPERATION WITH ARTIST ALEX MINK
ARTIST NOTES:
The Loneley Light island chain is the last outpost of the known world. These islands are so far from the mainland. Hostile to life and always exposed to the rough sea. The inhabitants are described in the books as people even the iron men would not want to have anything to do with.
I wanted to capture this hostility to life in the picture. A barren island that is the last piece of land and the only place where life can survive. The island is populated by thousands of birds, which covered the surface of the stones with their white droppings for centuries. No plant has the possibility to grow on this contaminated land.
Seen from afar, the island shines in white splendor - the lonely light before darkness.
More background information on this story?
Sven Sauer und AlperIn this video, Sven Sauer and Alper Turfan from Cinema Strikes Back talk about the creation of the Lonely Lights picture and which original locations were the inspiration for it.
Length: 11 minutes
Language: German
2 NFTs as EDITION of 250 pieces
If the Asshai box is too big and un-handy for you, we have created 2 pictures as NFT without Physical Token.
These two artworks are available in an edition of 25 pieces.
ASSHAI
EDITION 25
TITLE: ASSHAI
EDITION : 1/25
COLLECTION: ASSHAI
CREATED: 02/1/21
RESOLUTION: 3840 x 2160
LONELY LIGHT
EDITION 25
TITLE: LONELY LIGHT
EDITION : 1/25
COLLECTION: ASSHAI
CREATED: 02/1/21
RESOLUTION: 3840 x 2160
AUCTION WITH A PURPOSE -
A FREE ART EXHIBITION
With this auction of Asshai artworks, the artists want to implement an exhibition.
The entrance should be free for all fans. The proceeds of the auction will cover the fixed costs. Each collector makes it possible that the exhibition sees the light of day. You can find more info at the end of the page.
40 international Game of Thrones artists will come together in an exhibition to create paintings about the places that are talked about in the series - but for which no bid has ever been seen.
The images you'll see at the exhibition aren't linked to the upcomming HBO series "House of the Dragons." Rather, they will be unseen stories to the dark tales of the "World of Ice and Fire"....
It is very important to the authors GRRM, Linda and Elio that the exhibition is freely accessible to everyone and that no entrance fee is charged.
In order to finance the fixed costs like the location rent, insurances, supervisory staff or technical rental, we have teamed up to created this auction.
With your support you make the exhibition possible.
- All collectors of the auction will be invited to the private opening and will receive a guided tour through the exhibition from the artists.
Back in 2019 the first part of this exhibition called "Unseen Westeros" has already taken place in Berlin. The exhibition was a success - but the planning took almost 4 years. With the proceeds of the auction we will enable the planning for the follow-up exhibition "Unseen Westeros 2 - Darkness".
Let yourself be inspired by the images of the exhibition 2 years ago:
Over 4 years, 44 artists developed teh unseen world of “WESTEROS.” till now, there has not been any project where so many Game of Thrones artists worked together on one production. The exhibition shows only places of the World of ice and fire, which have not been seen yet.
ROAD MAP
- Presentation of the artworks after one year of developing process together with Elio.
- Westeros.org featuring a video-special about the artworks
- The youtube channel Alt shift X will do a 15 minutes feature about the background stories of the artworks
- The youtube channel Lucifer will do a 15 minutes feature about the background stories of the artworks
- The youtube channel CivilisationX will do a 15 minutes feature about the background stories of the artworks
- Auction of the artworks
- During august, we´re preparing the physical tokens for the collectors. All handmade. All made with love.
- Shipping of the physical tokens
The boxes will be shipped to the NFT owner within the time of 2-6 weeks. The shipping time will depend on the country of destination. With the parcel of your artwork you will also get a short video from the artist.
- opening of the exhibition on castle frankenstein.
Invitation of all collectors and supporters
Twitter: twitter.com/uwesteros
Learn more about Sven Sauer
Sven Sauer lives in Berlin and works as a digital artist for international film Productions since 15 years. Besides others he worked on feature films like „Atomic Blonde“, „Oblivion“ and Lars von Triers‘ „Melancholia“.
He was part of the VfX team which brought „Hugo Cabret“ the Academy Award „Oscar“ for Visuelles effects and three Emmys for „Game of Thrones“
Interview with artist Sven Sauer about the artwork. (german)
Get in touch
Should I let you know when the NFT auction will started?