Block Universe by DRIFT and Don Diablo

DRIFT artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta have created their first NFT in collaboration with digital art pioneer and musician Don Diablo, dropping on Pace Verso — Pace Gallery’s new platform for minting, exhibiting, and collecting NFTs — on Monday, November 29, 2021. The work is also being shown at Pace Gallery’s booth at Art Basel Miami Beach from November 29 – December 5, 2021. The NFT is part of the artists’ augmented and mixed reality artwork Block Universe (2021), which figures in their solo exhibition at Pace and depicts an abstract version of the solar system. The NFT comprises a one of one mp4 video file rendering of Block Universe with a soundscape by Diablo. It also includes a handheld custom display showcasing the NFT in an infinite loop, and a physical installation of DRIFT’s sun and stars will be rescaled to the specifics of the owner’s chosen site. That installation will activate the AR rendering of DRIFT’s AR solar system in block form via an iPad that will be programed to use AR software. The NFT and AR works are engaged with the block universe theory, which suggests that the past, present, and future occur simultaneously and are equally real. Also dropping on Pace Verso on Monday, November 29, are two new NFTs by Glenn Kaino. These works are a part of Kaino’s Legacy Team project, a longstanding collaboration between the artist and the Olympic track and field athlete Tommie Smith.