Show Statement
Space Invaders
Space Invaders, the inaugural NFT collection from NFG.CLUB, challenges how we view power, privilege, and influence. The figures in the collection are celebrated, envied, and command attention in victory. They are photo-shoot fresh masters at sculpting their image, sculpting their body, and curating their mythology, and they are ascendent where cultural significance is manufactured, and ambition is worshipped.
And yet, they all share the same stark face rendered in black and white. It is a face that is at once anonymous and familiar, constructed from the features of history’s most ruthless figures—Genghis Khan, Henry VIII, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, and others up to the present day. Our figures are no one and everyone. They wear a mask that requires no disguise, bearing a face that has ruled, conquered, and commanded across generations under different names and narratives.
The figures are adorned with signifiers of status and power—domesticated animals, luxury, and literal bags of money. Halos—whether projected or purchased—glow above their heads while a radiant sun shines upon the chosen. These props echo those from early church paintings and commissioned portraits of royalty—the halo, the scepter, and the divine light of providence.
Each figure is set against intricate, kaleidoscopic backdrops, taken from opulent wallpaper patterns. Wallpaper is designed to frame, decorate, and make a space feel complete—much like how power dresses in aesthetics. These patterns, inspired by traditional symbols of wealth and control, reflect how oppression, conquest, and dominance are recast as legacy, tradition, or even greatness. One generation’s tyrant is another’s hero. Perception is both curated by the wielder of power and generationally malleable.
Unlike algorithmically generated NFTs, each NFT in the collection is a multi-media work combining generative, digital, and traditional techniques that the artist hand-assembles.
Artist Statement
Space Invaders
Evil doesn’t exist in the abstract—it thrives in what we admire.
In Space Invaders, I explore how power adapts, how history camouflages itself, and how cultural capital makes monsters indistinguishable from icons. These figures don’t inspire fear; they invite aspiration. They exist in spaces of celebration, achievement, and status. They are untouchable, beloved, envied—adorned with the signifiers of wealth and virtue.
And yet, they all share the same face—a composite of history’s most brutal figures. It is a reminder that influence and atrocity often sit at the same table. The backdrops—digital reconstructions of opulent wallpaper—reference legacy, wealth, and control, framing power as something beautiful, curated, and acceptable. This collection does not offer a judgment, only a mirror.
Evil doesn’t exist in the abstract—it thrives in the mundane.
—Maximilian "Max" Factor
Artist Biography
Maximillian "Max" Factor
Maximillian Max Factor is a multidisciplinary artist whose work interrogates the aesthetics of power, cultural mythologies, and history's curation. Max constructs layered visual dialogues that expose the tension between aspiration and authority, ornamentation and control, while moving fluidly between painting, mixed media, and digital techniques. Their work resists neutrality, drawing viewers into an interrogation of power, beauty, and belief.
Max holds an MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and a BFA from Tyler School of Art. Their work has been exhibited in juried exhibitions at galleries in New York and Philadelphia and featured in national publications. Through a process-driven practice that eschews mass production and algorithmic generation, Factor creates singular works that challenge hierarchies of authorship and the commodification of cultural symbols.
The NFG.CLUB Interview
A Conversation with NFG.CLUB
The following is a conversation between NFG.CLUB and the artist behind Space Invaders, discussing anonymity, power, valuation, and the future of fine art NFTs.
On Joining NFG.CLUB & The NFT Space
NFG.CLUB: Before we get to the collection, I'd like to discuss how we began working together. You were initially quite skeptical. Why?
MAX: I initially viewed the NFT space as a commodity market that diminished art created expressly for it and painted the artist as unserious at best and mercenary at worst. I’m not saying these things are true, but that was my perception—shaped by how early NFT efforts prioritized speculation over artistic creation and by the prejudices of my "tribe." In some ways, I am supposed to benefit from traditional art market dynamics by virtue of formal education, credentials, juried exhibitions, etc.
NFG.CLUB: What changed your mind?
MAX: I started questioning where my real resistance to NFTs was coming from. When I stepped back, I realized the traditional gallery model has its own deep flaws: artists lack power, institutions control access, and financial equity is rare.
The more I looked, the clearer it became: NFTs don’t hurt artists—they empower them. If the biggest resistance wasn’t coming from creators but from those who profit from gatekeeping, that told me everything I needed to know.
NFG.CLUB: (Laughs) That's certainly our position, but I'm more interested in why NFG.CLUB? Why now?
MAX: Art constantly evolves. The medium isn’t the problem. If NFTs offer artists more control, a better financial model, and a direct connection to audiences, why wouldn’t I want to be part of that?
Also, this is an experiment of sorts, and that's intriguing. I believe anonymity enriches the experience by forcing people to engage with the work rather than the artist's mythology. The context isn’t erased—it’s just redirected. The art itself becomes the context.
I want to trust viewers with this. If you remove authorship, does the work hold up? If it doesn’t, then perhaps it was never about the art.
There was just a fascinating case of the hugely successful Chinese artist Ye Yongqing plagiarizing in entirety the work of an uncelebrated Belgian artist named Christian Silvain. Yongqing had made millions selling what amounted to replicas of Silvain's work in China, while Silvain was largely unrecognized.(1) The art world has always been susceptible to hype; what we're doing here inverts the curve (laughs) to make it almost anti-hype.
On Space Invaders and the Role of Power
NFG.CLUB: OK, let's talk about the collection. Tell me about the face of Space Invaders. The figures in the collection are aspirational, occupying spaces of influence, yet they all share the same face—constructed from history’s most ruthless figures. Is this face meant to confront us? Seduce us? Normalize what it represents?
MAX: All of the above. The face isn’t some sort of hyperbolic warning. It’s a reflection.
Evil doesn’t exist in isolation—it is absorbed into culture, systems, and the aspirational ideals we internalize. The figures in Space Invaders are desirable—positioned in a context we are told to envy. They are powerful, attractive, and successful.
And yet, they all share this composite face, exposing how easily the aesthetics of influence can be adopted, manipulated, and weaponized. The discomfort comes when we realize we don’t immediately reject them. I mean, they can look pretty appealing right? In a world where half the population wants to be an influencer, everyone wants eight-pack abs for their walk down the red carpet...
NFG.CLUB: The figures in Space Invaders are often depicted in moments of triumph or self-exaltation. Is power a performance?
MAX: Power is always a performance. It is not enough to have power—you must also be seen as powerful. That is why kings wear crowns, dictators hold military parades, and billionaires surround themselves with signifiers of success.
The figures in Space Invaders are playing a role. They understand the visual language of dominance, just as we have been trained to recognize and admire it.
NFG.CLUB: You’ve said that we are all descended from these figures—that their traits exist within us. What's the significance of that to you?
MAX: I think about this: What if Genghis Khan got a contemporary rebrand? He's got PR people and a personal trainer and stylist, and he's photo-shoot fresh, sitting front row at Fashion Week or walking the red carpet at some opening night for charity or the Met Gala, right? Would we love him? Would we forget that he raped and murdered his way across half the globe? This isn't as fantastical as it seems. We have several world leaders today who have, are, and likely will continue to perform atrocities, but their messaging wins out. You can dismember a journalist, eradicate a culture based on their ethnicity or religion, or seize a sovereign nation and still make it to the photoshoot. What makes this hard is that it's all of us – the figures I've chosen have influenced something like 20% of the human genome... so that's not us-and-them; that's us-and-us. (Laughs)
We see power rebranded constantly—new faces, same patterns. History has a way of repeating itself, not because we fail to learn from it but because these patterns are deep in our DNA.
We see this now in so many guises—eight-figure donations to a charity or museum board, billions spent to host the Olympics or start a major sports franchise or tour, etc. This is all money washing to gain respectability, and we seem largely OK with it.
On the Aesthetic of Power & The Role of Beauty
NFG.CLUB: There is a tension in Space Invaders—vibrant, visually arresting works that, upon closer inspection, reveal something deeply unsettling. Do you see beauty as an accomplice to power?
MAX: Beauty is a tool of power—it always has been. The backdrops in Space Invaders are intentionally ornate—kaleidoscopic distortions of opulent wallpaper. They create an aesthetic barrier, making the subject more palatable, even desirable.
We see this throughout history. Empire is dressed in regalia. Oppression is framed as tradition. The ugly parts of power are softened by their presentation. If something is framed as beautiful, does that make it acceptable? That is the tension in the work.
Final Thoughts
NFG.CLUB: What are you hoping for from your first NFT collection?
MAX: If people see the work and feel something, I’ve done my job.
But I would love it if Space Invaders made people consider how they engage with art, power, and aspiration. Then, it will have succeeded.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
(1) https://artasiapacific.com/news/renowned-chinese-artist-guilty-of-plagiarism
