We’ve all heard the talk of NFT buying, selling, and stealing, but non-fungible tokens still feel like a digital cash grab that everyone just wants in on. The strangest, most unassuming of these digitized assets (okay, images) tend to be the most profitable it seems, but Lamborghini announced one of the coolest, most unique uses of the NFT trade yet: interactive artwork celebrating the Apollo moon missions, locked with a key that’s been to space.
What’s in the box?!
Called “Space Time Memory,” the art pieces are more of a package deal with an actual physical component. The unique digital artworks are supposedly only accessible via an exclusive physical “key.” The keys are made from carbon fiber that Lamborghini sent to space as part of a research project two years ago. That’s right, they shipped off some fibrous weave to the International Space Station, and five numbered, physical pieces that came back are now the so-called “Space Keys” which contain the coveted QR code.
For the actual NFT artwork, Lamborghini enlisted Swiss artist Fabian Oefner, notable for his artwork series of cars and their components in an “exploded” view. Oefner did the same again here, studying the engineering plans of an Aventador Ultimae and sketching out a blueprint for a final artwork image.
The art piece is five unique images, each featuring the Aventador breaking up over a background of Earth’s horizon. The project involved thousands of photographed components needed to accomplish the carefully-designed exploded view. Rather than creating digital versions of those individual pieces (over 1,500 pieces, in fact), the actual parts were taken from production supplies to a pop-up photo studio at the Sant`Agata Bolognese Lamborghini factory.
There, Oefner and his crew photographed everything in detail before merging all the images into the Space Time Memory piece. The jaw-dropping background image is the result of flying a real balloon with a camera attached into Earth’s stratosphere to capture the correct perspective and curvature of the horizon (sorry, flat-earthers).
A True Original
Beyond the beauty of the actual image, which is striking, this NFT experience will never be truly copied with a screenshot and counterfeited like many others. The process took two months to complete and tiny details, like the markings on the firing order of the engine and the milling patterns on each of the gears, can be zoomed into and studied, making this an interactive artwork. The individual images are each meant to capture a different perspective as the car deconstructs, offering each of the five NFT holders a unique moment in time. It’s like the artist has engineered five specific perspectives onto one piece of art, which makes this NFT seem more grounded than many others.
If you’ve got the scratch to take part, the auction for the first of Lamborghini’s Space Keys begins on the first day of the lunar new year, February 1st, at 4pm CET. Each auction will last for exactly 75 hours and 50 minutes, which is roughly the same time frame that the Apollo 11 mission required to launch from Earth and finally enter the moon’s orbit. Interestingly, buyers will have to resort to ancient means of payment to secure a key, as crypto currency will not be accepted.
Keyword: Lamborghini's First NFT Requires A Carbon Fiber Access Key That's Been To Space