Titled Matter is Void, teamLab’s new NFT examines notions of ownership and authorship through an inventive new format that allows collectors to change the content of the work. 

Matter is Void makes its debut in a public art display in New York and as part of Pace’s presentation at Paris+ par Art Basel in October.

The project, released on Pace Verso’s platform on October 20, 2022 at 17:00 EST, comprises seven unique NFTs bearing the words “Matter is Void,” a reference to the Japanese-Buddhist expression Shikisoku Zekuu, which meditates on the meanings of emptiness. To explore ideas of authorship and ownership, teamLab has adopted a radical format for Matter is Void that enables the NFT purchasers to change the words displayed in the work via a website that teamLab has created. Once the NFTs’ content has been altered by their purchasers, the artworks will never again display their original “Matter is Void” state.

While only seven Matter is Void NFTs will be available for purchase, ownership of the artwork is not exclusive to NFT purchasers. The artwork will be available for individuals around the world to download, own, and display at any time. All those downloaded works will reflect purchasing collectors’ real-time modifications to the words displayed in the NFTs. While the NFT provides collectors with the right to change the text, all works downloaded by NFT purchasers as well as individuals who do not own the NFTs are equally authentic.

Coinciding with the launch of the online platform for downloading the artworks, one of the NFTs will have its initial “Matter is Void” text modified into a new phrase as part of a major activation across large-scale screens in New York. This public presentation is realized in partnership with Artsy, the leading global online art marketplace, and is sponsored by OUTFRONT Media.

ーPace Verso