Banksy’s ‘Love Is in the Air’ made into 10,000 NFTs
The segments will be available to purchase from January for about £1,100 a piece
Banksy’s 2005 piece ‘Love Is in the Air’ has been segmented into 10,000 NFTs, with each piece representing a different section of the painting.
NFT (non-fungible token) company Particle revealed on Wednesday (December 1) that the piece is its first acquisition, purchased for $12.9 million (£9.7 million) at auction.
The painting, which depicts a masked man about to launch a colourful bouquet of flowers, will be available to purchase for approximately $1,500 (£1,100) a piece.
After an initial offering on January 10, 2022, the ‘Particles’ will be put up for sale across NFT platforms where the value is subject to change.
The physical version of ‘Love Is in the Air’, will be acquired by the Particle Foundation, which is the non-profit branch of the company that will preserve and tour the piece.
The Particle Foundation is set to unveil ‘Love is in the Air’ tomorrow (December 3) at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, during Art Basel week.
“Banksy has turned the art world on its head. Widely regarded as one of the most iconic creators of the 21st century – his daring, humanitarian nature and strong belief that art should be for everyone reflects the mission at Particle, making this masterpiece symbolic to launch the platform with,” Particle co-founder Loïc Gouzer said in a press release.
Banksy’s famous shredded ‘Love is in the Bin’ painting set an auction record when it was sold for £18,582,000 in October. The guide price had estimated between £4-6 million.
Elsewhere, Christopher Walken painted over a real Banksy artwork for a scene in Stephen Merchant’s new series ‘The Outlaws’.
The artist, who is from Bristol where the show is set, was contacted by ‘The Outlaws’ production team for the stunt on the show.
A TV insider told The Sun: “Then they discovered shortly afterwards that he’d been to the location where they were filming and left something behind.
“They couldn’t believe their luck as he’d painted a giant rat using his hallmark stencilling technique as well as his distinctive signature.”
Banksy requested that Walken would actually paint over the artwork, in the same destructive trend that characterised ‘Love Is in the Bin’.