Startbahn To Present Mariko Mori’s First NFT “NFT/Eternal Mass” at Art Collaboration Kyoto 2022

From November 18th to 20th, 2022, Startbahn will present Mariko Mori’s ”NFT/Eternal Mass” at the Art Collaboration Kyoto (ACK) VIP Lounge. Following ACK’s 2022 curatorial theme “Flowers of Time”, Mori’s ”NFT/Eternal Mass”(2022) is a celebration of unity, fluidity, and relationship formation in the post-Covid age. It is also the artist’s first NFT. The Startbahn booth at ACK’s VIP Lounge marks the first time “NFT/Eternal Mass” will be available with an exclusive VIP allowlist for future minting.


Image: Mariko Mori,”NFT/Eternal Mass” (2022). Courtesy of the artist.

From November 18th to 20th, Startbahn will hold private viewing tours inside ACK’s VIP Lounge at Kyoto International Conference Center (Kyoto International Conference Center Event Hall) presenting Mariko Mori’s first NFT entitled “NFT/Eternal Mass”. These viewing tours are also accessible to the general public with advance registration.“NFT/Eternal Mass” marks the first time the acclaimed Japanese artist creates an NFT artwork, available for private, and subsequently, public sale. “NFT/Eternal Mass” is the culmination of years of research and development from Mori, an artist famous for her large-scale sculptures and installations bringing together concepts from ancient wisdom and materials derived from latest technology. With the ability to morph and transform over time, Mori’s “NFT/Eternal Mass” embeds the crowd-sourced nature of blockchain technology into the Japanese concept of Kojiki creation myth, originating in the eighth century in Japan.

“NFT/Eternal Mass” will be available for sale only at ACK’s VIP Lounge for the duration of the fair, in limited allowlist supply. ACK 2022 brings together over 50 international and Japanese galleries to exhibit at Kyoto International Conference Center Event Hall, and other venues throughout Kyoto City, with special exhibitions and satellite programs conceived by newly appointed ACK Program Director Yukako Yamashita.

For more information, visit: https://eternalmass.com/

■ About Mariko Mori’s ”NFT/Eternal Mass” (2022)

Originally conceived in 2014, Mariko Mori's vision for "NFT/Eternal Mass" is now only made possible through the use of NFTs and blockchain technology.

The shapes for Mori’s “NFT/Eternal Mass” were originally inspired by the quantum physics theory of a particle and its antiparticle: the theory that there is an associated antiparticle with the same mass but opposite charge for every particle. Based on the Calabi-Yau manifold, the forms of “NFT/Eternal Mass” are based on visualizations of the six unseen spatial dimensions of the Superstring theory.

“NFT/Eternal Mass” falls within the artist’s recent work surrounding the Japanese creation myth in Kojiki, a chronicle of myths originally recorded in the eighth century Japan. In the myth, the first five generations of terrestrial deities came to light as a pair. For “NFT/Eternal Mass”, Mori focused on the idea of pairing and coupling, drawing from the first-ever recorded creation myth in Japan to explore the meaning behind the appearance of opposite genders in ancient mythology.

Mariko Mori comments, “Most life is delivered by coupling in this world. It is a sacred, pure, and transcendent phenomenon of bonding with another. It is the only way and a key for any life to expand generations. By witnessing the coupling of Eternal Mass, I hope to remind us of the essential meaning of life – giving love.”

“NFT/Eternal Mass” can be thus understood as a natural continuation of Mori’s artistic practice, and a reaction to our post-pandemic reality, with social distancing measures still in place in various parts of the world. Central to this NFT project is the idea that the soul never dies, similar to the immutability nature of NFTs on the blockchain.

■ About Mariko Mori’s ”NFT/Eternal Mass” Viewing Tour (Each session: 15min)

Friday, November 18th and Saturday, November 19th
13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00, 17:00, 18:00
Sunday, November 20th
13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00

Venue: VIP lounge (2F)
Capacity: 6 people per session
Language: Japanese, English
How to apply: Please register your interest using the form below. Applications will be closed when capacity is reached.
https://forms.gle/fupUcpA64Am55ebw7

*Please gather at the entrance to the VIP lounge on 1F at the start time. Please note that you will not be able to attend if you are late.
Inquiries: Startbahn, Inc.
Attn.: Konabe (080 8435 3294)
Online exhibition: The online exhibition will be available from Friday, November 18 on the ACK website.

■ About “NFT/Eternal Mass” Allowlist (pre-purchase limit) distribution

The NFT will be available via a pre-sale allowlist exclusively at the ACK venue. An allowlist will allow VIP Lounge access members to purchase the NFT at the time of the sale. Name, email address, and wallet address (optional, can be registered at a later date) information will be required.

■ About Mariko Mori

Mori has attracted international attention since the mid-1990s, participating in international exhibitions around the world and holding numerous solo exhibitions in the museums. Major solo exhibitions include “Pure Land” (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Japan, 2002), “Wave UFO” (Public Art Fund, New York, US, 2003 / Bregenz Art Museum, Bergen’s, Austria, 2004), “Oneness” (CCBB Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2011) and “Rebirth” (Royal Academy London, London, UK, 2012). The exhibition “Oneness” recorded 500,000 visitors, making it the most visited exhibition in the world that year.
Major group exhibitions include the “Sao Paulo Biennale” (2002) and the “51st Venice Biennale Arsenale” (2005). In recent years, Mori has been involved in outdoor installation projects, including 'Sun Pillar' on Miyakojima Island in 2010 and 'Ring: One with Nature' in Brazil, as one of the official cultural programmes of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016. Her works are also in the collections of many institutions, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Guggenheim Museum, the Centre Pompidou and the Fukutake Foundation. Major awards include the Award of Excellence at the 47th Venice Biennale in 1997 and the 8th Japan Contemporary Art Encouragement Award in 2001; in 2014 she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the University of the Arts London.

■ About Art Collaboration Kyoto (ACK)

Art Collaboration Kyoto (ACK) is an art fair held in Kyoto under the theme of “contemporary art and collaboration.” It is one of the largest art fairs in Japan specializing in contemporary art, and is unique in the collaborations it forges between Japanese and international galleries, government and private sectors, and the fine arts and other fields.

The main venue, Kyoto International Conference Center, will consist of two sections, “Gallery Collaborations” and “Kyoto Meetings,” where works will be exhibited and sold.

In addition, satellite exhibitions and talk programs planned by newly appointed Program Director Yukako Yamashita will be held, and a number of collaborative programs are scheduled to coincide with the holding of ACK in Kyoto City.

Dates
November 18 Fri.–20 Sun., 2022
Preview: November 17 Thurs. *by invitation only

Hours
November 18 Fri. noon–7pm
November 19 Sat. noon–7pm
November 20 Sun. noon–5pm
*Please note that the last entrance is 1 hour before closing

Tickets
Book your tickets here

Main Venue
Kyoto International Conference Center Event Hall
Takaragaike, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-0001 Japan
Nearest station: Kokusaikaikan Station on the Karasuma Subway Line (5-minute walk)
Google map

Organizer
Art Collaboration Kyoto Executive Committee
Partners
Lead Partner: Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd., EDION Corporation
Special Partners: Buffalo Inc., SGC Co., Ltd., Yamauchi No.10 Family Office, Ueshima Collection, Vzusa, Startbahn, Inc., Rakuwakai Healthcare System, Arts & Professionals Network Inc., The Shizuoka Bank, Nomura Holdings, Inc.
Official Partners: Matsushima Holdings Co.,Ltd., Uedahonsha Co., Ltd., Sumitomo Realty & Development Co., Ltd., Japan Airlines, Color Kinetics Japan Inc., Champagne Pommery, Whisk-e Limited, Schmatz, Romanlife Inc., SunM Color Co., Ltd., Kyoto Sake made with Kyoto Rice
Main Media Partner: Hearst Digital Japan Co., Ltd.
Media Partner: The News Lens Japan, The Japan Times., Ltd.
Main Hotel Partners: Ace Hotel Kyoto
Hotel Partners: MUNI KYOTO, Noku Kyoto, Node Hotel, Park Hyatt Kyoto, Hotel Okura Kyoto Okazaki Bettei, The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Kyoto, The Royal Park Hotel Kyoto Shijo, Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto, Aman Kyoto, Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto, MARUFUKURO, Hyatt Regency Kyoto, The Prince Kyoto Takaragaike, Mogana, Hotel Okura Kyoto, GOOD NATURE HOTEL KYOTO, BnA Alter Museum, Urban Hotel, Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Sanjo, Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Station, sequence KYOTO GOJO
Associated Partner: Maeda Coffee, Hosoo Co.,Ltd., Clew Inc., Leaf Publications Co. Ltd., Culture Vision Japan Foundation Inc., graf
Support
The Cabinet Office, Government of Japan in the fiscal 2022
The Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan in the fiscal 2022

■ About Startbahn, Inc.

Startbahn is a leading Japanese art tech company aiming to enrich society by providing the technology needed by artists and those involved in the cultural and creative sectors. Startbahn operates Startrail, a sustainable and scalable blockchain infrastructure that assures the reliability, authenticity, and traceability of artworks—from physical works such as paintings, sculptures, and installations, to digital works based on data such as images, video, and audio. Trusted by major galleries, e-commerce platforms, art fairs, collectors, artists, and more, Startbahn provides a suite of web apps, APIs, SDKs, and NFC products to issue and manage NFTs on the blockchain.

For more information, visit: https://startbahn.io/

■ About FUN FAN NFT at ACK

Alongside the presentation at the Kyoto International Conference Center Event Hall’s main venue, Startbahn will also deploy limited edition and free FUN FAN NFTs at ACK 2022. Look for the QR code on the FUN FAN NFT flyers handed out on-site at ACK 2022.

FAN FAN NFT is a mobile web app that gives users a whole new way to experience NFTs in the real world. Event and exhibition organizers, retail stores, venues, hospitality, and other physical locations can now offer NFTs to their customers through a simple QR code. With FUN FAN NFT, location partners can create campaigns to attract, reward, and continuously engage with new customers. FUN FAN NFT is powered by Startrail, the blockchain infrastructure for the cultural and creative sector, and is managed by Startbahn and Art Beat.