Savage Beauty | Hawai'i Volcanos | Ethereum The Merge Editions

Savage Beauty | Hawai’i Volcanos is a historically important collection of both 1/1s and Editions symbolically timed to coincide with the historic Ethereum blockchain merge that occurred on the 15th September 2022 hence each Editions size will be initially limited to 15.

The series will grow over time with each collection referencing different stages of the Ethereum roadmap starting with ‘The Merge’ on 22nd September to symbolise the merging of the Proof of Work execution layer with the Proof of Stake Beacon Chain consensus layer.

After ‘The Merge’, additional releases will be referenced to the following roadmap words:

• Beacon Chain - Proof of Stake - Sharding - The Surge - The Verge - The Purge - The Splurge

Collectors of any of the Editions or the 1/1s will be given priority pre-sale viewing of future collections. Multiple purchases will be rewarded with additional bonuses after the sell out of the first collections.

Energy usage is one of the most talked about aspects of crypto currencies and with the transition to Proof of Stake, the energy consumption of the Ethereum network will greatly reduce. The massive amount of energy that volcano eruptions begin with eventually peters out and is what inspired the release of this collection that Joseph felt was perfectly suited to commemorate this key moment in blockchain history.

Each photograph was captured on the Big Island of Hawai’i during the prelude to the historic 2018 eruption, the main event and the aftermath.

Joseph was able to document the event in unprecedented breadth and depth covering many different phases of the eruption over a total of 4 months on 3 different trips. It included coverage of human and animal rescue and community stories of coming together during a time of crisis in true aloha spirit showcasing the best of Hawaiian culture and humanity.

In addition he captured a myriad of spectacular images of the eruption as it transformed the landscape, conveying the mesmerising beauty and dichotomy of volcanos. Creation and destruction occurring simultaneously. Joseph had unprecedented access at times and was able to capture photographs of phases that no one else was able to. They would have been lost to history soon after as the eruption evolved if he had not worked extremely hard to get to those places at significant personal risk in order to capture them. It was like living through a natural war zone. Joseph was exposed to everything nature could throw at him living with constant earthquakes, sonic booms, deafening bomb like explosions, toxic fumes, acid rain and lava bombs hurled hundreds of metres from their source.

This was the biggest eruption in over 200 years. There were at least 24 officially numbered fissures. One of them formed an enormous molten river that flowed for 9 miles to the ocean creating new coastline, black sand beaches and violent littoral explosions. One of the phases namely fissure 17 was extremely violent and explosive. It yielded new discoveries about the magma composition that will be studied along with the rest of the eruption for many years to come.

Many of the photographs in the portfolio were published extensively in major newspapers and magazines all over the world including by National Geographic in print and online also winning major awards along the way.

Alongside the stills archive, Joseph created a multiple award winning short film of the eruption called ‘Pele the Goddess of Fire’ that is planned for release as an NFT in due course.

Witnessing a volcanic eruption of this magnitude is a visceral, breathtaking and humbling experience. Documenting this event pushed Joseph to the edge of physical and mental limits of exhaustion in order to bring back as much of this epic period in history as authentically as possible.