Enthusiasts of art and the iconic sci-fi movie Alien have an upcoming opportunity to acquire a segment of a digital representation of a unique sculpture by the renowned Swiss artist, H.R. Giger.
The sale will be hosted by the digital art platform, Particle. This platform, leveraging blockchain technology, offers fragmented ownership of art pieces with significant cultural value, as stated on their official website.
Named “Necronom/Alien III, 2005”, this sculpture stands out as one in a set of six. However, it holds a special place as the sole piece handcrafted by Giger himself.
With an appraisal exceeding $240,000, Particle is set to fragment the artwork’s ownership into 500 digital segments or “particles”. These segments will be available for purchase as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), where each NFT equates to a 1/500th share of the sculpture.
On June 16, the NFTs will become available at a price point of $1,000 each.
Those who own a fragment of the sculpture will have a say in its fate. If an offer ever comes in for the tangible artwork, its fractional owners will have the authority to decide through voting if it should be sold.
Particle captured attention when it ventured into tokenizing and fractionalizing the notable Banksy artwork titled “Love is in the Air.” This artwork was secured during a Sotheby’s auction in March 2021, with a winning bid of $12.9 million.
From this acquisition, Particle minted 10,000 NFTs dubbed “Love” particles, each priced at $1,500. Over time, the value of these particles has seen a decline, settling at an approximate floor price of $500.
Notably, for those holding “Love is in the Air” particles, an incentive awaits. They’ll receive a discount of $200 when procuring the Alien NFT.
Crafted from steel and polyester resin, the Giger sculpture boasts impressive dimensions, stretching over seven feet in length and rising three feet in height. From June 7 to 8, the artwork will be showcased in a collaboration between Particle and the H.R. Giger Museum in Lisbon.
Following its Lisbon exhibit, the sculpture is scheduled for a display at the Hluboka Castle in Prague, headlining a Giger-centric exhibition. It will subsequently grace Art Basel in Switzerland before its unveiling at an yet-to-be-announced venue in Paris.
Harold Eytan, the CEO of Particle, shared his enthusiasm regarding the tokenized sale of the renowned ‘Alien’ design, expressing, “Our aim with this tokenized sale is to amplify Giger’s artistic legacy, reaching a broader spectrum of enthusiasts.”
He further added, “In our view, art, cinema, and music transcend man-made confines. Few artworks delve as deeply into the human psyche as Giger’s, which perfectly embodies this universal sentiment.”
Benefits of Art Tokenization
Leveraging blockchain technology to tokenize artworks presents a myriad of advantages.
Primarily, through tokenization, an artwork’s ownership can be fragmented, permitting a wider array of individuals to engage in the art market. This democratizes the access to art, allowing more enthusiasts to have a stake in masterpieces.
Furthermore, this approach paves the way for fresh investment avenues. Investors can access products anchored on the artwork’s value, opening doors to the world of art investments that have traditionally been reserved for a select few. Consequently, this adds a unique dimension to investment portfolios, diversifying them with assets from the art realm.
In addition to broadening access, fractional ownership brings enhanced liquidity to the art scene. Owners can liquidate a portion of their stake without having to part with the complete artwork. This injects greater flexibility and transferability into art ownership, adapting to the evolving needs of modern investors and art enthusiasts.
