At 21, Fewocious has already lived several artistic lifetimes. From selling his first digital work as a teenager to becoming one of the youngest artists ever featured at Christie’s, he’s watched his intimate digital paintings command millions while navigating the volatile cycles of the digital art market.

Now, after years of creating privately in the shadow of personal loss, the Vegas-born artist has returned home to transform a vintage slot machine into an interactive meditation on chance, grief, and growing up in the neon desert.

His latest work, “Life’s a Gamble: The Last Spin?” arrives at a poignant moment – it will be featured in Christie’s Post-War to Present sale today (Sept. 29), marking the final digital art placement by outgoing VP of Digital Art Nicole Sales Giles before the auction house closes its pioneering digital art department.

For Fewocious, who has worked with Sales Giles since his breakthrough Year 18 sale in 2021, the timing carries special weight: a homecoming Year 21 piece closing out a chapter for both artist and institution.

Now Media sat down with Fewocious and Sales Giles for exclusive interviews ahead of the auction, diving into the sale’s backstory and significance.

Now Media: You built this piece after moving back to Vegas from New York. What brought you home?

FEWOCiOUS: I missed the desert. In New York, it’s really hard to go to Home Depot. But really, I felt like I could do crazy stuff in Vegas a little bit easier. When you grow up here, you go to 7-Eleven and there’s slot machines, you go to Walgreens – like any store just has slot machines everywhere. I thought it was funny, you know, the crypto space, everyone’s gambling all the time.

I’m from Vegas, so I’m no stranger to that. I literally remember being a little kid and for my preschool graduation, I was holding hands of an adult walking through a casino floor going to a little ballroom because that’s where our preschool graduation was.

“I was reckoning with being back home and finding out my dad died… all these complicated feelings.”
FEWOCIOUS

The timing of your move coincided with a personal tragedy. Can you talk about that?

Last year my dad died. I was in New York and I get an email from my family – I don’t know how they found my personal email – and they’re like, “Your dad has cancer. We think he might die this week.”

For the first time ever in my life, I just look at my phone, I book a flight then and there, I go to the airport, no suitcase, nothing. I was going to some Azuki event and I was covered in paint. Within 24 hours I find out my dad is about to die. He ended up dying like two days after that.

I was reckoning with being back home and finding out my dad died… I didn’t even know how I feel about that because he was mean to me but at the same time, oh my god my dad died, I don’t have a dad. All these complicated feelings. That really made me feel that I have to work on the slot machine because I don’t even know how to make a painting or anything to express the what-the-fuck I had in my mind.

You’ve been creating art privately for yourself recently. What made you decide to put this piece out publicly?

It’s weird. I forgot almost what that feeling felt like to just put all of yourself into it. It felt really cool and nerve-racking. It felt everything.

I was so focused on my art being for me. This isn’t just for me. It’s weird to go from being 16 in my room making art no one sees, and then it blows up really fast. Suddenly my most vulnerable feelings are on a little stage.

Tell us about the technical process of completely rebuilding this slot machine.

A lot of people think that I just bought a slot machine, which I did. It was working. But because slot machine companies are billion dollar companies that don’t want you to have access to their tech, I had to rip it apart. I found two electrical engineers in Vegas who are my age – one actually grew up with my girlfriend.

Together they’re super smart. We bought hella chips and parts and made custom printed circuit boards and so much wire and soldering and everything. There’s just so much love put into this. The machine laughs at you and taunts you and makes jokes. There’s nothing else in the world like it.

What were some unexpected challenges?

There’s so much consideration – we had to add a volume knob. You never think about that. We use a tech product, you’re like, of course there’s volume. But we built the slot machine and we’re like, shoot, it’s so loud. How do we make a volume knob? Where do we put that? Where do we put all the wires?

The day before we had to ship out the slot machine, one of the circuit boards exploded. With a painting, you just go slap some paint on there and fix it real fast. But when everything’s so intertwined, it’s a lot more work.

The physical piece is accompanied by an NFT. How do they relate?

I made a poem about growing up here in neon and desert. It’s like the heart inside the slot machine, all the weird circuitry and stuff. The less showy part where it’s like, I imagine there’s a little blob inside – me, the little guy inside pulling everything. The NFT is that. It’s like my little blob emotional version of myself.

Life’s a Gamble: The Last Spin?

For auction in Christie’s Post-War to Present Sale on Sept 30th (Public Exhibition the 22nd – 29th at Christies NYC)! 🎰 🎰🎰🎰🎰🎰🎰🎰🎰🎰

Age 21 of my auction series, inspired by the year I moved back home to Vegas. An interactive sculpture… pic.twitter.com/Q9slhrkSp0
— FEWOCiOUS (@fewocious) September 19, 2025

This is Nicole Sales Giles’ final sale at Christie’s. What’s that like for you?

When Nicole called us and told us [about the department closing], it was certainly like, what the hell? A huge shock to everyone. I’ve been working on this for months.

But it’s also a weird full circle moment. Nicole was like, “It’s crazy. We started working together. I was one of the first web3 sales after Beeple.” She basically saw me evolve through my life. We both got shocked, but also sentimental. You know what, it’s the last one. Let’s do it big and have fun and enjoy it because that’s why we’re both here and why we’ve had so much fun working with each other.

“I’ve had the honor of showcasing countless [digital] artists’ works in dialogue with both established masters and emerging voices across Contemporary Art.”
NICOLE SALES GILES

Nicole Sales Giles reflects on the collaboration and her Christie’s tenure:

Ever since collaborating with Fewo on his Year 18 sale at Christie’s in 2021 (and later, his Year 19 in our Day Sale in 2023), I’ve loved supporting and watching his artistic journey unfold. Earlier this year, Fewo and his team reached out to me with his idea for a slot machine to commemorate his Year 21 – such a meaningful milestone for him personally. I loved the idea right away (particularly the interactive nature of the piece), and of course, Fewo’s passion and excitement are contagious!

Since the early days of Christie’s Digital Art department in March 2021, one of my prime goals has been to elevate digital artists by placing works by those creators who first gained momentum in the digital art movement within our traditional auctions – I’ve had the honor of showcasing countless artists’ works in dialogue with both established masters and emerging voices across Contemporary Art. My team and I have done this for nearly five years, and Fewocious is a brilliant example. I’m thrilled to have included him in Christie’s New York’s Post-War to Present auction, a live sale offering works by some of the most sought-after artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Today the slot machine goes up for auction at Christie’s & finds its new home🎰🎰🎰🎰🎰

When the auction ends, the slot will unlock Owner Mode: prizes like painted shoes, a 1/1 painting, a mystery bitcoin jackpot, and a few mystery surprises still hiding inside. pic.twitter.com/hNyIPegl9R
— FEWOCiOUS (@fewocious) September 30, 2025

Now Media: What are your thoughts on where digital art stands today?

Fewocious: Good art is good art whether it’s a painting or an NFT or whatever. The same sentiment that everyone has is don’t separate it so much. When it’s fire, it’s fire.

How does it feel to return to such a major auction after focusing on personal work?

Life’s crazy, life’s a gamble and I feel like no better metaphor for it would be the slot machine for me at least. I’ve had a crazy upbringing but then crazy success meeting people I never thought I’d meet. I’m just excited to see people play with it.