cryptonews.com
As the deadline for Damien Hirst’s The Currency NFT burn is approaching, more and more owners proceed to burn their NFT in exchange for corresponding original work on paper. However, NFTs still seem to be winning this art experiment.
At the time of writing, a total of 2,111 NFTs have been burned, with the owners receiving physical artworks, according to an official countdown and tracking page. This means a total of 7,889 NFTs are remaining.
The deadline for the burn is July 27, 2022, or another 14 days. If an owner has not exchanged their NFT by that period, then they will keep the NFT and its corresponding physical artwork will be destroyed.
In July last year, UK superstar artist Damien Hirst kicked off a unique experiment, creating a collection of 10,000 art pieces that come with accompanying digital artwork. However, the catch is that owners can't keep both.
Hirst gave owners one year (until July 27, 2022) to decide whether they want to keep the NFT or exchange it for the physical equivalent - depending on the decision, only one version will survive.
The artist has claimed that this experiment challenges the concept of value through money and art as it forces people to confront their perception of value, and how it influences their decision.
“One of the problems of the art market is it’s not easy to ascertain the price of, say, a blue period Picasso,” Joe Hage, Hirst’s advisor and collaborator who is also the founder of art services business Heni, said at the time, adding:
Hirst’s “point was to create art that was freely traded enough, in a relatively frictionless environment, which had a value you’d actually know.”
While a lot can change in the remaining 14 days, so far the experiment seems to be in favor of digital art, with around 80% of owners resisting to burn their NFTs in exchange for the physical artwork.
During the launch, successful applicants were able to buy an NFT for USD 2,000. However, shortly after the launch, the price surged to around USD 8,000 on secondary marketplaces.