I made the NFT of the Mona Lisa
I put up the Mona Lisa as an NFT. But, there is a catch.
How it started.
NFTs have taken the world of digital art by storm. Being an artist in the space for over a year now, I love how empowering NFTs are for creators. They became popular for being a token of value with permanence, immutability and decentralisation as some of its core principles. A few days back, I decided to question some of these principles.
What I created.
I created an NFT which is ever-changing - I created an NFT which I can change to whatever I want at a future date. And hence named the work “I”. Here is the Opensea link:
How I did it.
The technology behind this was simply straightforward. I created an interactive NFT using the BeyondNFT platform which is really an HTML file. This file fetches images/videos from a Github repository which I update whenever I want.
Why I did it.
As I said above, I was questioning some of the principles of NFTs. Every time someone purchases an NFT, they “own” a single something. But what if they own an NFT that changes as the creator likes? Do they own all what the creator showcase? Do they own nothing at all? What exactly do they own? What happens when you buy something but it is not that thing anymore?
What happens when you buy a painting in which everything but its frame changes to something random and unpredictable over the course of time?
And when it comes to what the creator will showcase, what exactly would he/she showcase? A new artwork every day? A picture of their dog? A sarcastic quote? A rebellious photograph? A video of …. well…imagine…
In terms of collection maybe it’s the creator’s imagination that is being collected? Maybe it's his/her frustration? Maybe it's his/her happiness?
With this artwork I tokenised a variable. What shows up in it will depend on my thoughts and feelings. And many of the images and videos that I showcase will not be shown ever again. With this I was experimenting with the concepts of permanence and non-immutability. Who would want to collect something which is impermanent and mutable?
This is a work for a lifetime. I would be changing this as long as I am alive. What happens beyond that?
Being a work for a lifetime, it is a live insight into the life of the artist. A conversation from the artist to the collector/audience. Imagine hanging the NFT on a wall. It would change at a random time to an unexpected image and would be surprising. Would you hang such an art on your wall?
Why the Mona Lisa?
One of the images that I shared in the NFT was that of the Mona Lisa. There used to be a print of the Mona Lisa hung on my bedroom wall during my childhood. It used to intrigue me then and now.
Once I started learning about ownership in the art world, I used to question whether when we collect a work of art, are we also buying a portion of the story of the creator’s life? Which prompted me into thinking - can the artwork be not just a portion but a living breathing version of the creator’s life? When I created this artwork stemming from this thought, I wanted to raise questions rather than making statements.
So, when I shared the image of Mona Lisa as an NFT, I ask whether I am sharing someone else’s life by sharing their work in my NFT? What happens if someone collects this work? Will they own the story or the works in it? Or is it just an HTML code that they are owning? Or.. is it rather a living breathing version of my life?
The story of this artwork is not in the conception but will be on how it lives. It’s story will be based on how it evolves over the course of time.
Thank you for reading. If you would like to dialog about this work, feel free to reach out to me at https://www.nurecas.com/about-me
