Not one to shy away from shock tactics, Madonna joined the non-fungible token (NFT) market by releasing a series of X-rated graphics showing the pop icon giving birth to butterflies, insects, and trees.
Titled "Mother of Creation," the collection, which is the result of a collaboration with NFT artist extraordinaire Beeple (Mike Winkelmann), will be sold for charity and includes three highly graphic animations.
The first, "Mother of Nature," shows Madonna giving birth to a tree. The second shows her birthing butterflies, which the artists call "one of the most beautiful creations in nature, and a sign of hope" on the website.
"The butterflies are a metaphor for the paradox that the world is burning down in a post-apocalyptic scene, but there is still evidence of life," the site reads."We continue to give birth, no matter what destruction is going on, no matter what oppression we face.
"It relays the important message that if you are waiting for the world to be perfect or for your life to be perfect to create art, it will never happen. We have to do it, for our own survival in this chaotic, unpredictable world."
The third animation, "Mother of Technology," is of Madonna giving birth to insects and is a depiction of the way "science can also birth light into the world, but only if used with the right consciousness," according to the website.
"When Mike 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 said in a statement. "It’s been an amazing journey building this together from an intellectual idea to an emotional story, giving birth to art."
Madonna announced the collection on social media earlier this week. In a video posted to Instagram, Madonna has a conversation with Winkelmann about the art, revealing that they had been working on the project for a year.
"We set out to create something that is absolutely and utterly connected to the idea of creation and motherhood," Madonna says.
"The opening of each video is essentially me giving birth,” she continues. “Whether I am giving birth on a tank in a post-apocalyptic city, or a hospital bed in a very sterile hospital environment, I'm doing what women have been doing since the being of time but on a more existential level: I am giving birth to art and creativity."