teamLab

The project, which will be released on Pace Verso’s platform on October 20, 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.

From October 12, Matter is Void will be made available to download via a website teamLab has designed, accessible at (opens in a new window) https://www.teamlab.art/matter-is-void-owner/download/.

The seven NFTs—six in their original “Matter is Void” format and one activated by Grimes—will be available to purchase on Pace Verso, accessible at (opens in a new window) verso.pacegallery.com, starting October 20. Grimes will also participate in an AMA discussion on Pace Verso’s Discord server on Friday, October 14 at 5 PM EDT.

Matter is Void will also be presented in Pace’s booth during the inaugural edition of Paris+ par Art Basel, which is open to the public from October 20 to 23.

On a formal level, the project reflects teamLab’s long-standing investigations of Spatial Calligraphy—or calligraphy drawn in space. With many of its digital works, teamLab has explored the ways that calligraphic forms might shapeshift across two- and three-dimensional spaces. In Matter is Void, brushstrokes appear on the screen, continuously floating and rotating in space. These brushstrokes periodically coalesce to form the phrase “Matter is Void,” or a different phrase selected by the NFT purchaser. These fleeting moments of legibility are interrupted when the brushstrokes take on abstract choreographies once more. Each Matter is Void artwork has a different color variation: black in white, black in black, white in white, gold light, fire, water, and fog.

This new NFT project also reflects the collective’s explorations of the relationships between individuals and the external world. As such, these artworks bring questions of being and ephemerality to the fore.

The release of Matter is Void will coincide with the launch of Pace Verso’s new, Ethereum-backed sales platform built by Mojito. Offering custodial wallets and payments via crypto, credit cards, or wire transfer, this platform update will serve Pace Verso’s efforts to make purchasing NFTs as easy as possible. Varied customization tools will also support Pace Verso’s mission to support a wide range of artists’ practices in the web3 space.