Introducing CHAIN: a cultural monument and hybrid blockchain landmark
The inception of blockchain technology started an international movement to separate money from state and reset power structures that have existed for centuries. CHAIN is a homage to this innovation, celebrating blockchain’s subversion and transformation of historic power structures in our financial and transactional systems — with the art world being no exception.
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The physical structure
Reaching towards 70 ft high in the physical world, CHAIN is an imposing stainless steel sculptural representation of blockchain and the history of money which is illustrated in the base structure where members of the public will be able to explore and interact with it.
The installation is a historic cultural monument and hybrid landmark, which celebrates the revolutionary potential of decentralized networks to transform the monetary system and enable innovative economic structures like distributed governance through fractional ownership.
The digital counterpart
CHAIN is also a digital interactive artwork that exists in the Metaverse. It will appear in virtual worlds such as Decentraland, Cryptovoxels and Somnium Space, as well as having its own dedicated VR space where token holders can explore the art piece and interact with each other. CHAIN token holders will be able to vote on CHAIN’s virtual movements and locations as well as being able to interact with the piece in a number of unique ways.
CHAIN Token
CHAIN is an experiment in community ownership and governance; an amalgamation of real-world purpose and structure effected through a network of equals whose collective voice shapes the destiny of the project and where trust is in code.
CHAIN tokens represent a fractional ownership of the physical art piece and digital counterpart.
CHAIN token holders will be able to stake their ownership tokens to mint governance tokens which will be used to shape the life of the structure in both the physical and digital worlds. Governance tokens will be a factor of time staked, so early supporters who choose to stake their tokens will have a larger weighted voice in the governance decisions.
The artist
The sculpture has been designed and will be produced by world renowned industrial artist Rob Buchholz, and his Los Angeles-based Feral Studio.
Rob is known for his unique large-scale artworks that have toured the globe from Hong Kong to Chicago and Malaysia to Mexico City.
“My work is a powerful statement of what today’s pop-culture influenced art world is about. It’s raw, not easily controlled, and evokes emotion easily with its size and beauty. I think my art is for a generation that are drawn toward more experiential art rather than static. We like to muddle our art with music, technology and all things interactive.”
Rob teamed up with some former Feral crew members — who had taken the crypto plunge many years earlier — to create the vision for CHAIN. After journeying down the rabbit hole himself, Rob realized that such an innovation was worthy of a monument and set out to turn his vision into a reality.
Rob’s inspiration for the CHAIN sculpture physical foundation will be revealed as the build progresses. The physical sculpture foundation will be an interactive narrative heavily influenced by the story of money and the chaos of nature.
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More information on CHAIN.art is available on our website: https://chain.art/
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