Performance artist and photographer Antonius Oki Wiriadjaja turns to his work to make meaning and laughs. Over ten years ago, he started a Tumblr page that chronicled his physical and mental recovery after surviving a rogue bullet wound from a drive-by shooter. 

When the pandemic hit, Wiriadjaja embraced a similar artistic approach. He started an unconventional Instagram account to present a daily “food face” mask creation. Dubbed “Foodmasku,” the project led Wiriadjaja to create one of the first generative photography NFTs, a collection in which he photographed over a hundred individual traits made with food items.

While the New York-based artist’s journey hasn’t always been full of rainbow-colored foods, he has made it a habit to capture joy and resilience wherever he points his camera. Here’s what you need to know about artist Antonius Oki Wiriadjaja, known as Foodmasku. 

His NFT career launched after a New York Times feature

Just months into his creative project of using food to make masks, the New York Times featured Foodmasku’s Instagram account in an article entitled “5 Art Accounts to Follow on Instagram Now.”

The article drove thousands of new eyes to Foodmasku’s work, captivating readers with his short videos in which he makes objects like a cheese board into face masks. The newfound attention led Foodmasku to research how he could own his work more permanently and better engage with collectors. Shortly after, he learned about blockchain technology and NFTs. 

It took Foodmasku just months between the article’s 2020 publication and his first mint in 2021 to join the web3 world, and once he did, his creative momentum kept growing. After releasing his ‘Bread Proof’ genesis collection, Foodmasku soon minted ‘Delectables’ on the Ethereum blockchain, which he describes as the first known generative photography project.

‘Delectables’ is as food-driven as it sounds 

‘Delectables’ is a 2,000-item NFT collection, with each NFT pulling from a potential of over 100 traits. The NFT rarities vary based on the color of the background, the items Foodmasku uses for the masks, and even the hairpieces that extend out of the facemask. Throughout the collection, you’ll see self-portraits of Foodmasku with a bowler hat on, pineapple crowns as ears, and lots more. 

Lucky New Yorkers could also see some of Foodmasku’s work in person during a 2022 exhibition at The Invisible Dog Art Center in Brooklyn. In addition to select works, Foodmasku’s performance art exhibit included a kickoff dinner party where a couple ate food masks off of his face. 

‍When describing his creative process and style, Foodmasku has described his artistic process as one of restraint. In an interview with NFTs.WTF, he boiled down his food photography projects to three main constraints: they have to involve food, all food must be edible, and all must be completed within a specific time window.

Foodmasku’s platter continues to grow  

Since Foodmasku’s ‘Bread Proofs’ genesis collection, the artist has continued to stake his fork in the NFT food and photography world. His 2022 ‘Eat Gay Love’ NFT collection is a four-item project tied to the theme, “One man's search to eat every food under the rainbow.” 

His first solo exhibition in New York City was titled “What We Eat, Who We Are” and included pieces like his Po’ Boy NFT pictured above. OpenSea also included the artist and former Fullbright Scholar in its Prides Perspectives Gallery this past year.

No matter an onlooker’s artistic tastes or Foodmasku’s creative appetite, looking at any of his performance art pieces makes us hungry for more.