Gerdi Petanaj

CONCEPT

After almost eighty years of unprecedented global peace and prosperity, our world faces a significant problem that is strictly related to the causes of past major world conflicts: money and borders. Money here is correlated with debt, resources, and the end of a cycle; borders are about the equilibrium of power that, in times of crisis, changes. In that context, new and old movements rise and fall, and among them, we can look closely at two of them, expression of a broader point of view.

On the one hand, we have preppers, a very varied community whose main focus is surviving whatever situation they have to face. They base their goals on basic old skills, like building up a shelter, growing their food, energy autonomy, mastering physical tools, and accumulating a lot of tangible and useful goods, like food, tools and precious metal coins and barrels, that are the best safe haven assets. 

On the other hand, we have NFT enthusiasts, a branch of the well-known crypto community that research, study, create and market Non Fungible Tokens in different forms, one of which is art. The tech is new, the hype is up and running, the borders are limitless, the future is dreamy, and most importantly, the reality is digital. Between physical and digital, past and future, besides all differences, these two worlds have something in common, something that has its roots in the creation of language: a story.

Our story begins with Clay Gould, the main character, who begins his journey carrying with him an attaché case containing ten silver sculptures and their digital counterparts, the tools to face the changing existential paradigm. These elements are totems that lead him to the way of knowledge and serve to orient himself to the hybrid reality that dances around the old and new world.

A separate reality

The attaché case with the Kit is part of the “old” world: a slow, heavy and limited heart that beats in its own rhythm. Despite all the advantages, the old world is being updated like a body that needs a double heart. The new heart is the new world, digital: fast, light, programmable. Old and New pump information to each other, creating an equilibrium between two different realms. The rhythm of NFTs is intangible, playful, and speedy. Every sculpture has an NFT artwork counterpart that has a totemic function. Like the primitive men draw the bison inside the cave as a ritual, we create the fiction through NFTs as a game interface that does have an impact on its physical counterpart. NFTs bring new life to the sculpture.

Why silver?

You cannot separate matter and concept. The matter is the concept. A synthesis between the attaché case and the ten sculptures is the material used: economically silver is most important because it’s a store of value, it’s real money. It has never been defaulted on and has no counterparty risk: if you hold physical silver, you don’t need another party to make good on a contract or promise. It’s a hard asset, you can touch it, and it’s scarce.

In the realm of metals, there exists one that stands unrivaled in terms of optical reflectivity, thermal conductivity, and electrical conductivity—silver. Its exceptional properties make it highly sought after for applications in solar energy, mirror production, and as a conductor of heat and electricity. But its significance goes beyond practical applications. Silver holds a place of honor as the material that paved the way for the first photographic process, capturing images and memories for generations to come.

Beyond its scientific and artistic contributions, silver is deeply intertwined with the mystical realm, particularly with the enigmatic energies of the moon. During the celestial dance of new moons and full moons, silver becomes a conduit for these lunar forces, carrying their ethereal essence.

Thus, silver stands not only as a symbol of technological progress and visual beauty but also as a vessel for celestial energy—an embodiment of both human ingenuity and the celestial magic that surrounds us.

Non Fictional Truth?

Just as the rise of videogames represents the turning point of the fictionalizing process of reality, NFTs, characterized by pronounced realism and interactivity, are fictional interfaces that allow the audience/user to experience certain aspects of the physical sculptures, otherwise hidden, and interact with them. Fiction changes reality, just like matter. But what is fiction and what is real? We’ll show what we found out.