"Fractionalizing the work in 10,000 NFTs allows a much wider audience to be part of a collecting experience," the man behind the audacious project says.
A real-life Banksy painting is being split into 10,000 NFTs.
Love Is In The Air — created back in 2005 — depicts a masked man throwing a bouquet of flowers instead of a bomb.
It went under the hammer for a whopping $12.9 million in May, and according to The New York Times, there are now plans to share this powerful piece of artwork with the masses.
Loic Gouzer has established a company called Particle that is powered by the Avalanche blockchain and aims to "change the way people own, collect, experience and enjoy fine art."
Speaking to the newspaper, Gouzer said:
"When I was a kid and I was looking at auctions and catalogs, I always felt it was impossible to participate financially and that I was by definition excluded. Fractionalizing the work in 10,000 NFTs allows a much wider audience to be part of a collecting experience."
Now you may be wondering, what's the point in owning a tiny fraction of a piece of art — not least because it can't take pride of place in your home? He explained:
"Of course you can enjoy art when you go to a museum, but the enjoyment from art comes also with owning it. That’s why people collect."
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An Exciting Development
Each NFT is set to be sold off for about $1,500 each — and the painting is being split up into 10,000 individual squares.
Given how the art is based on a white background, some of these "particles" might not be all that inspiring — but it nonetheless reflects a minority stake. The newspaper reports that a collector's card will allow investors to pinpoint the exact location of their particle, and admire the artwork as a whole too.
If all 10,000 of the chunks sell out, it'll also represent a rather healthy profit for Gouzer — generating $15 million… $2.5 million more than what was paid at the auction.
Success could also start a trend that could threaten millionaires attempting to get their hands on coveted masterpieces — not least because they'll have to contend with an army of retail investors.
Another recent example came in the form of ConstitutionDAO, where more than 17,000 enthusiasts donated ETH so a decentralized autonomous organization could bid on a rare copy of the U.S. Constitution.
More than $40 million was raised — double the amount that the artifact was expected to sell for — but the DAO was outbid by a billionaire hedge fund manager Kenneth Griffin, who had an upper hand because he could see how much the organization had raised by checking blockchain records.
ConstitutionDAO is now in the process of disbanding, and some donors have been left with a bitter taste after their ETH refunds were considerably eroded by gas fees.
