Ripcache, a Web3 artist whose works often focus on the perils of constant state surveillance, has teamed up with art platform Particle for a unique phygital challenge that will push the boundaries on art co-ownership and on-chain voting rights.
Central to the challenge is ripcache’s artwork “public//private #7,” which explores themes of trust/mistrust, public/private, and physical/digital. Particle plans to fractionalize the artwork, splitting the piece evenly between 64 different owners, who will collectively decide its fate.
According to a press release shared with Rarity Sniper, there will be two versions of “public//private #7”: a digital copy and a physical one etched onto metal. The two will be connected through a hidden, secure key, which can be unveiled at a later date.
The 64 owners will be able to decide the fate of the two versions in a vote, with options to separate the digital and physical artworks, disfigure the physical artwork, and more. The vote will happen after a one-year lock-up. If the group votes to disfigure the physical artwork, it will happen at a live event where all 64 owners will collectively scratch the work with their metal cards.
Particle was founded in 2020 and is known for its unique approach to digital art, often fractionalizing well-known pieces like Banksy’s “Love is in the Air” and H.R. Giger’s “Necronom” (Alien III) sculpture. Parts of its fine arts collection have toured worldwide, and the platform boasts a community of art lovers in the thousands.
Ripcache has made waves in the crypto scene, partnering with Christie’s and Avant Arte for sales, as well as releasing an Ordinals collection on the Bitcoin blockchain that currently has a floor price of 0.27 BTC ($12,157) at the time of this writing.
Particle Lends Artwork to Museums
Particle has popped up on our Rarity Sniper radar before. In fact, throughout the bear market, it appears it has been building — finding new ways to engage and grow its community of art lovers, as well as enhance its budding offerings of fractionalized art.
One story from it that we’ve covered involves the aforementioned Banksy piece “Love is in the Air.” Six months ago, Particle announced that it was planning to send that piece on a world tour starting with a U.K. art exhibition titled “The Urban Frame: Mutiny in Color.” After, it was set to go to Amsterdam and Barcelona for six-month stints in museums there.
A representative of Particle told Rarity Sniper that the company aims to “democratize art collecting — both at the point of buying and the point of owning.” These world tours allow a global audience to enjoy renowned artworks, and the fractionalization method of the company allows people to own a popular artwork for a fraction of the cost.
There’s no telling what direction the 64 owners of the ripcache artwork will do with their voting privileges, and whether all that will be remaining after a year is the digital version of the piece. But there’s no doubt it’s an exciting experiment in on-chain voting and digital ownership. If it pushes the space along, we’re certainly for that as well.
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