F A Q

Frequently asked questions (and not so)

What is Lionize?

SORRY, WHAT IS LIONIZE

(I am overwhelmed with cryptic text and ninjas!)?

Relax, all you need to know is:

Artwork by the artist Shinobi X is displayed in the windows of vacant real estate in Sydney, Australia.

There are 3 ways to purchase the artworks; 2 involve visiting their location, 1 is online. If you understand the difference between; Purchase (on location), Claim (online), and Lionize (pledge on location) you can simply act, secure an artwork and unlock more.

Shadowplay, cryptic text and ninja themed avatars are optional creative narratives.

WHAT IS ALL THIS NINJA BUSINESS?

Any references to ninjas are a creative extension of Shinobi X's artwork.

Lone Wolves, Phantom's and Hidden Hands are simply avatar's for the different types of art collectors and their abilities are simply their purchase options. Your actions determine your ninja type (regardless if you engage in the Shadowplay narrative or not).

WHAT IS SHADOWPLAY EXACTLY?

Think of Shadowplay as a live news feed about the activity around the art exhibition.

Part real world information, part "choose your own adventure" game book.

Updates are provided via @Shadowplay_live on instagram, communicated by a creative (ninja) themed narrative and icons.

Shadowplay is entirely optional but as it tracks the exhibition activity, by observing Shadowplay you can respond and take action to unlock artworks before others.

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY DIFFERENT ARTWORKS

(and why can't I see them)?

There are 2 types of artworks (collage & digital) only 2 are available for purchase: Light work & Prism (the rest are unlockables).

Artworks have been grouped by labels. These labels represent the size and type of artwork (not their theme).

Light work & Prism are original collages on canvas. They are the only artworks that will be displayed in the window of vacant real estate and online. They are also the only 2 available for purchase (one at a time).

Shadow work & Penumbra are smaller original canvases. They can only be seen, secured and unlocked when Light work or Prism are purchased.

Dark work & Anomaly are digital artworks, seen, secured, & unlocked when Light work or Prism is purchased.

Obscura is undefined and unlocked by collecting 7 Dark works. ⠍⠽⠎⠞⠑⠗⠊⠥⠍ is undefined, how it is unlocked is a mystery.

WHAT IS GAMIFICATION?

Gamification is inserting game design elements into conventional systems. The system of unlocking additional artworks in Lionize is a timing based game. Your actions determine if you unlock artworks based on how and when you take action. Shadowplay could also be seen as "gamified" as real word actions have a fantasy narrative overlay.

WHY EXHIBIT IN VACANT REAL ESTATE

(and not just in a gallery)?

Lionize was designed to be a mobile, location based experience.

Creativity does not have to stop at displayed artworks, it can continue through discovery and interaction.

Lionize also:

Breathes life into empty spaces while they are waiting to be leased.
Has incentives for visiting the artworks location.
Moves around the city encouraging exploration (with the health benefits of walking).

WHY CAN'T I JUST MAKE A NORMAL PURCHASE?

The 3 purchase options were designed to reward actions with unlockable artworks.

Each option is based on the motivation a person has to preserve them.

Option 1 (Lone Wolf) is for people who want to secure an artwork immediately. They are rewarded for their actions with 2 unlockable artworks (if they are first to scan and purchase at the location).

Option 2 (Phantom) is for people who can't (or do not want to) visit the location. They trade unlockable artworks for the convenience of claiming online. Submitting a claim is free and if successful you will be invited to purchase, which is optional.

Option 3 (Hidden Hands) rewards coordinated actions by pledging. Wealth & status normally determines access in traditional art purchases. In Lionize people form a collective unlock system to make artworks accessible for everyone in the group. Submitting a pledge is free and if successful you will be invited to purchase, which is optional.

WHAT MAKES THE HIDDEN HANDS DIFFERENT FROM CROWDFUNDING?

Collectors are not funding ideas that may (or may not) launch in the future. They are unlocking access to artworks that exist right now. Coordinated pledges grant people the ability to secure artworks that may be otherwise unobtainable.

Instead of paying full price, the cost of the Light work (or Prism) is divided by 10 people, each pledging 10%.

Submitting a pledge is free and if successful you will be invited to purchase, which is optional.

When all 10 people pledge (and pay) the group unlocks access and receives an artwork each (through collective preservation).

1 person will secure Light work (or Prism) at their pledge price of 10% (A$200 instead of A$2000).

1 person will secure 1 Shadow work at their pledge price of 10% (A$200).

8 people will receive a collectible Dark work each for their pledge of 10% (A$200).

Afterpay can be applied to pledges so a A$200 pledge is made more accessible with 4 payments of $50.

HOW LONG BEFORE A NEW SHINOBI DROP?

An artwork is displayed one at a time, a new drop depends on if Lionize continues to exhibit in the same space or has to relocate.

Same space: potentially the following week after the previous artwork allocation & shipping has been finalised.
Relocation: asap but (realistically) it may take a few weeks for a new drop until an appropriate space is secured.
Check @Shadowplay_live on instagram for new Shinobi drops & up to date location information.

WHY IS LIONIZE ONLY AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA?

Shinobi X is a Sydney based artist and Lionize is a hyper local exhibition.

While there is an online component, we want you to discover art (and be rewarded) by exploring the city.

DOES THIS ALSO APPLY TO SHIPPING?

Those living outside of Sydney (within Australia) can submit a claim online as The Phantom.

Lionize does not ship outside of Australia but shipping is free for mainland residents.

ANY OTHER TIPS?

Consuming English mustard is about controlled breathing.

Chewing creates a chemical reaction turning it into a fiery vapour.

To redirect the inferno...

Breathe out through blowing lips and experience a toasty umami sensation.
Breathe through your nose and the flames of Hellfire will ravage your senses and melt your face.

Stay safe and be confident with kind condiments (*this is not medical advice).

NO, I MEAN TIPS ABOUT LIONIZE?

Sure (helpful for the next part):

⠗⠑⠍⠁⠊⠝⠀⠊⠝⠀⠇⠊⠛⠓⠞

CRITICS CORNER

FOR THOSE WHO REACT RATHER THAN RESPOND

(with a dash of playful sarcasm)

I AM A GRAPHIC DESIGN HEAVYWEIGHT

(This website is not perfectly formatted and does not fit the screen of my Psycho T-1000 TV watch).

The layout of Lionize may change depending on the shape of your screen. Information access & function should still work properly.

While we strive for a seamless experience, it may help to think of this project more like DIY Punk rock or the limitations of the human condition. You could try reader view but perfection is a full stop anyway, there is no more potential left.

I AM A PROMINENT WRITER

(This website's grammar is not up to par).

In the event of Lionize not using spell check correctly, please forgive us and our sins.

In the event of syntax errors, treat all text as cryptic messages.

I AM A PRESTIGOUS MOLECULAR CHEF

(Your view about mustard and umami are egregious and irrelevant to this website).

This is a website about art, and gastronomy (like art) is the emulsification of visual and sensory textures.

Our advice was a simple reduction of the piquant complexities of the Brassica juncea plant. You may deglaze us with hyperbolic statements that this website is nothing more than deconstructed foam, but we provide a mise en place for sinuses.

We want our friends to remember; we all breathe but in the end our breathing makes us.

I AM AN ESTEEMED ART GATEKEEPER

(These savages weaponize flippant juvenile aesthetics with trivial games).

The epistemological framework of Lionize explores the juxtaposition of liminal spaces with gamification. Shinobi X ideates semiotic ambiguity & thirdspace synthesis with derivative pop culture references to create suspension of disbelief.

I AM A PROFESSIONAL LENSMAN

(Your photography is amateurish at best)

Lionize purposefully uses simple reference photos for Shinobi's artwork.

A photo of an artwork (no matter how well shot or retouched) is not the physical artwork itself.

Like Pamela Anderson we decided to take the makeup off.

As Lionize is a location based concept please visit the artwork in person to view it properly.

I AM A SOCIAL MEDIA TASTEMAKER

(Your Insta numbers are laughable).

Lionze & Shinobi are not chasing numerism. Numbers (without substance) can often be more important than the creative work itself.

Social media metrics can be easily manufactured with purchased followers, views & clicks. Vanity metrics & Ghost followers may inflate accounts to project a larger following than they actually have. (To the shock of some) the audience may in fact be an illusion.

Our Instagram on the other hand inverts attention economy numbers for something more organic and real.

Lionize operates with the "smallest viable audience". Each artwork only requires between 1-10 people to secure them.

Shadowplay only reflects the numbers needed to preserve artworks and the minimal amount of people participating in Lionize.

I AM A PREEMINENT ART ADVISOR

(How are you justifying your prices)?

To provide price transparency, you are only paying for the artworks themselves and not the artists reputation or previous gallery positioning. Even though the artist has sold works under different (anonymous) pseudonyms over the years, Shinobi is purposely not emphasising past career achievements as validation to purchase.

For consistency & logic around numbers, artworks are priced by square inch (width x height x rate) and then rounded down for simplicity. The 3 purchase options Lionize offers were designed to make the artworks accessible and reward collectors actions (rather than emphasise the status of collectors or the artist).

COLLAGE IS JUST STICKING PEICES OF PAPER ON A SURFACE

(my 5 year old could do that).

Without sounding too pretentious and delicately navigating the minefield of parental advice...

Shinobi's visual samples are carefully curated from different cultures and countries around the world.

These images are then recontextualised to create an amalgam with deeper meaning.

Now, we are not saying your child's art lacks depth, they could be augmented with cyberware or possess ESP powers for elevated artistic expression, but, perhaps, they are just... superficially "sticking pieces of paper on a surface". Shinobi & Lionize do not discriminate, whether your child is an Esper, Gonk, Edgerunner or Corpo-brat, we welcome diversity in all forms of creativity.

Shinobi, however does not paddle in the shallow waters that your child may bathe in. They dive into the abyss of the human condition.

Look closely at the details in the art and you may find metacognition, and everyone loves to metacognate.

I STILL NEED VALIDATION BEFORE I PURCHASE

(Who is the artist)?

As previously mentioned...

Lionize is about Shinobi's artworks. It is not about posting what they had for breakfast on socials or who gave them gold stars.

They are not climbing a ladder or desperately trying to be flavour of the week and go viral.

Lionize is for people who sincerely value Shinobi's work, not because you had permission, but (hopefully) because YOU (as an individual) personally connect with the art without approval.

Please preserve or swerve with authenticity because there is no rewind for being kind.