Expanding on the art world’s latest scam, a former Christie’s executive has jumped on the NFT bandwagon and created PARTICLE, an online marketplace for “fine art masterpiece” NFTs.
The first item for sale is 10,000 shares of Banksy’s Love Is In The Air. The original Love Is In The Air (also known as The Flower Thrower ) adorns a wall in Bethlehem, Palestine.
But what exactly is being sold here? Is it Banksy’s 2005 painting of the same name?
No - what’s being sold is a digital certificate that bestows ownership of a randomly selected virtual cell from a 100 x 100 grid overlaid on an digital image of the painting.
Bansky, Love Is In The Air, 2003
PARTICLE purchased this piece for $12.9m at auction and is now trying to turn a profit on this by selling shares in the ownership. So much for the quaint idea of holding a portfolio of art assets and patiently waiting for them to appreciate. No time for that - gotta make bank NOW!
Judging by the amount of white background, odds are at least 8 to 1 that a buyer of a random 1/10,000the share will get virtual “ownership” of blank space.
PARTICLE claims that the work itself will not be destroyed (even though it will be particalized), and that PARTICLE will retain 9% ownership to prevent anyone from claiming “possession of the physical piece”. Except for PARTICLE, of course, which will maintain possession and hold the work in trust. Likely in the PARTICLE Museum, where admission fees will be charged for entry.
So act now and you can own a digital certificate that says you own some tiny portion of a painting that you will never actually own or likely to ever see in person.