Justin Aversano wears many hats in the NFT community. A pioneer leading the charge for photography NFTs, he is also the founder of Save Art Space (the nonprofit behind the Punks billboards) and is unequivocally devoted to his art.

Looking at art as a way to “create something every day out of depression and addiction and to just focus on the good and creativity that helps you heal,” Aversano has found incredible ways to transmute the darkness and death in his life into positivity and love. 

Having found his artistic calling in college around the time his mother passed away, Aversano takes his creative endeavors extremely personally. “Because it’s all a healing process,” he says. “Art, to me, is a healing process”.

Widely known for his “Twin Flames” photo project, which showcases 100 pairs of twins, Aversano has become known as one of the most prolific and top-selling photographers in the NFT community. 

The project was conceived naturally at one of his gallery showings in tribute to Aversano’s own late fraternal twin. With a bit of planning, Aversano staged his first twin photoshoot for May 3, 2017, and it snowballed from there.

“After that they (the first set of twins) recommended a twin, and it was like a domino effect of twins recommending twins,” says Aversano. “From shooting the shining twins in London to the shamanic healing cactus San Pedro twins in Peru.”

 In June, his “Twin Flames #49” portrait sold at Sotheby’s for $35,280 and Aversano donated all of the proceeds to the Sevens Foundation charity. Since then, the project has continued to accrue in value and now boasts an impressive floor of 79 ETH.

On this episode of the nft now podcast, Justin Aversano talks about his personal artistic journey, founding his nonprofit Save Art Space, bringing NFTs to the public art space and more.

The CryptoPunks billboards that popped up in Miami, NYC and London were undoubtedly one of the most notable happenings in pushing mainstread awareness of the project.  A joint venture between Aversano & collector/investor GMoney, the two crowdfunded the project with the aim of drawing attention to NFTs, empowering art organizations and, in turn, empowering artists.

“My whole ethos in the NFT space is – I want to be the person who helps bridge the physical and digital and creates a reciprocal between the two,” says Aversano. 

With the mission of bringing more art to public spaces, the Punks billboards incentivised a sort of scavenger hunt – with those who were able to find the billboards being rewarded for their participation.

“If you go out in the real world, and you take a photo with it, and you tag GMoney or Save Art Space with your wallet address, you get to redeem the NFT,” says Aversano
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