UnderAqua will be available for purchase on NiftyGateway on December 21st with a 6-hour collector presale. After the collector presale, the public sale will begin at 6:30PM ET / 3:30PM PT. Please follow @underaquaNFT and @niftygateway for links to the collection page.

UnderAqua is an Aquaverse born out of chaos from the mind of Kenny Scharf. This unique one-of-a-kind story of a post-nuclear universe is told through NFTs, and the participation of its collectors, AKA scientists. This concept represents what is possible when a community comes together to accomplish a goal for the greater good.

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The Year: 2045 

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The Place: An abandoned nuclear power plant off the coast of the Pacific. 

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The Situation: Unforeseen tectonic movements and intensifying ocean waves crashing against the complex have eroded the bordering wall of a nuclear facility – and small cracks have begun to spider along with the concrete. Unbeknownst to all, highly toxic ooze has been seeping into the surrounding waters, converging with a century of untended plastic pollution. When scientists at the plant finally discover the leak – years after it began – they find that the doomed wildlife has been ravaged by hazardous plastics and radiation from the nuclear plant, permanently mutating the fish, with some exhibiting erratic behaviors and unnatural abilities. For example, some fish have mutated, and others have built underwater metropolises. Some fish have grown legs, while others have grown wings. Some smoke weed, and some take steroids. The impact of the superpowers combined with their newly found free will is something never before seen. Now it is up to us, a massive task force of analysts, known as "UnderAqua," to study the effects of radiation on the fish. Each expert will be granted full access to the plant's staff, tools, and the quarantined areas, which are presumed to house infected fish species. 

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The Mission: The lead scientist hypothesizes that although these fish's superpowers can be dangerous, we can find answers to some of humanity's most significant threats if studied correctly. So our goal is to study these fish and figure out not only what specific mutation happened but how we can apply these superpower-like abilities to help society for the greater good of humanity.

Collector Presale: 6-hour window for Kenny Scharf collectors and VIP accounts to mint 1 mint pass per account. The presale mint price is $250, while the public sale mint will be $400. Once the public sale begins, community members can mint as many mint passes as they would like for a 24-hour period or until the collection sells out. Each Mint Pass provides access to a unique Kenny Scharf 1/1 Generative UnderAqua NFT- delivered in Q1 2023. Each mint pass includes entry to a raffle of 23 1/1 Kenny Scharf holographic fish (one win per account, raffle closes 24 hours after mint). HoloFish are extremely limited as they represent the varying body archetypes in UnderAqua. HoloFish actively change in hue and are the only animated pieces in the collection holders with multiple mint passes that will have increased odds of winning a HoloFish. Each account only has the chance at winning 1 of the 23 HoloFish.

Kenny is one of the most prominent artists in modern American history and has worked alongside several greats such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Andy Warhol. He began to raise the ranks during the New York pop art era, inspired by elements such as WWII and the fear of nuclear war. His style of work and creativity are irreplaceable, while his trademark characters and fictional psychedelic-like environments have driven Kenny's success throughout his career. A number of his most recent works include his collaborations with Christian Dior and Pangaia. At the same time, he is also well known for his KarBombz, a social experiment that has allowed everyday people to enjoy his thought-provoking creations. He is a seasoned painter, sculptor, and creator whose skill and expertise can be compared to a microscopic margin of other artists. Kenny's style fits perfectly into the story and feel of UnderAqua and web3, which is why we are so ecstatic about the launch of this generative collection.

Art is an ever-changing realm, similar to the UnderAqua Universe. We have chosen not to release a roadmap for this project to let the collection grow organically. We believe collectors should be attracted to a genuinely high-end on-chain collectible with utility and additional community benefits after that. This project does not simply end with this primary release, as we are looking to build a community whose main goal is to create a framework for the future of Web 3.0. Whether it be events, collaborations, gamification, future releases, etc., there is more to come, and we ask that you stick around to see what the future holds. As for Discord, stay updated with the official UnderAqua Twitter and Instagram pages, as the Discord server will be released in due time. We ask that you report and be wary of fraudulent pages, as we will only post on our official Twitter, Instagram, and Discord once made public.

UnderAqua NFTs will be revealing in Q1 2023. Each NFT is algorithmically generated and will be reviewed for quality before being randomized. Specific details about the reveal date and on-chain randomization measures will be released closer to the reveal in Q1 2023.

Kenny Scharf Studio and Artestar played a major role in the creation of the art and ensured the final product is top quality. 

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OTOY has provided scanning and production services for UnderAqua, taking Kenny’s clear acetate paintings, scanning them at 4K, and processing the works for generative minting. Future extensions of UnderAqua may further leverage OTOY’s world class capture, rendering, and streaming technology. 

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House17 is assisting with marketing and promotion for UnderAqua. We have also partnered with a non-profit, 

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Project CETI, whose values fall in line with the sentiment of UnderAqua. Being that their goal is to build a pipeline in which humans can communicate with some of the largest aquatic mammals in the world, starting with Sperm Whales. Our love for the preservation of high-end art, and CETI’s push for the preservation of the ocean and its species led to this forward thinking collaboration.