InTangible: A Reflection On Digital vs. Physical Co-Ownership

Abstract

InTangible is a mixed media artwork and connected object that captures images of a handwoven fabric and sends them through the network. A digital camera with built-in RGB LEDs, configured with a combination of digital parameters, glides over the fabric and allows remote users to enjoy a new, intimate dimension of the textile. The once static and monochrome texture is transformed into colourful, abstract digital dreamscapes, while, at the same time, becomes a material object meant to be exhibited in a physical space. With InTangible, we challenge classical art ownership, which only allows few individuals to own a select number of artworks. We believe that art co-ownership would allow a more diverse group of people to own and collect art, which in turn, would change the dynamics of both art creation and engagement with art. Nobody has full ownership of the digital version of the canvas. Instead, it is co-owned by users who acquire fragments of it from an NFT (Non-Fungible Token) market.