A sudden, insatiable thirst for cryptoart has seized the art world. Earlier this week, Grimes pocketed almost $6 million after auctioning off several pieces of original digital artwork, while in February Miami-based art collector Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile sold an NFT for $6.6 million – 100 times more than the $66,666 he acquired it for in October.
And now a blockchain company has physically destroyed a piece of art by Banksy in order to make its existence completely digital.
Injective Protocol reportedly paid $95,000 for the Banksy artwork titled
Morons (White), which features an auction for a painting that reads,
“I can’t believe you morons actually buy this sh t”. The group of self-proclaimed “tech and art enthusiasts” then proceeded to set the piece on fire and livestream the destruction through the Twitter account BurntBanksy. It is now solely available as an NFT (non-fungible token) and can only be purchased and viewed digitally, presumably by morons.
However, it’s feared a £6,000 support grant will not be enough to support its retailers. For many shop owners, this figure is unlikely to cover even a week’s loss of income, let alone rent, utilities, and wages. This isn’t to mention the complete lack of support for everyone else who works in the sector. Be it designers or the countless freelancers who buttress the industry, there is a gaping hole in the government’s financial welfare package.
Elsewhere, businesses such as hospitality, leisure, and personal care services, are set to be given up to £18,000 per premises. Rishi Sunak, chancellor of the exchequer, has also pledged £300 million to the film and TV industry, which makes £4 billion a year, to support their Production Restart Scheme. Has the fashion industry, once again, been neglected in government policy? All signs point to yes.