GenZ

One of the most successful NFT artists takes over Flannels’ Oxford Street store

Deyvid Dimitrov
Deyvid Dimitrov
May 16th, 2022 3 mins to read

One of the world’s most successful NFT artists invites you to interact with his new installation titled AB Infinite 1. Andrea Bonaceto, an Italian contemporary artist and blockchain pioneer, takes over Flannels’ flagship store on Oxford Street.

As an interactive digital installation AB Infinite 1 invites members of the public to become artists themselves, encouraging viewers to alter the digital artwork through a specially designed AI (Artificial Intelligence) mechanism. Andrea’s purpose-built AI collects viewer interactions online through social media channels and turns these reactions or suggestions into visual responses which then appear as part of AB Infinite 1. This represents a new user-friendly form of AI, which does not require the user to be a software specialist or coder in order to manipulate it. Those viewing the installation on Oxford Street, will be able to watch as AB Infinite 1 morphs in appearance as people interact with the piece on social media.

Andrea Bonaceto has previously collaborated with Sophia the Robot – the most advanced AI humanoid robot in the world. The NFT artworks that Andrea made with Sophia the Robot represented one of the most successful NFT debuts on Nifty Gateway grossing around $3m between primary and secondary sales. Andrea Bonaceto is inspired by the interaction of technology and art in the today’s word. In 2021 he received the Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts.

To make this even more accessible, people can view AB Infinite 1 on the artwork’s website www.abinfinite1.com that will go live on Monday 16th May. There are 2 steps to follow to become part of this piece:

Firstly, visit www.abinfinite1.com and share your Twitter and/or Instagram account in the appropriate section of the website. Secondly, use the exhibition’s hashtag #abinfinite1 on Twitter and/or Instagram while sharing content. This will then become part of the piece forever in an abstract fashion following the AI processing.

AB Infinite 1 represents a step forward in the field of programmable NFT art. This innovative approach is possible thanks to the efficiency of the Algorand blockchain, which is used as the technological backbone for this project. Algorand is widely considered as the world's most decentralized, environmentally friendly, scalable, and secure blockchain infrastructure.

Bonaceto’s digital installation uses state-of-the-art technology – including an 8K resolution system – to create London’s most optically powerful screen that is entirely wrapped around the outside of the Flannels building. This enables 50,000+ people to see the artwork daily and is part of the longest running permanent art installation in Europe, offering the public new ways of accessing art. The piece will also go on tour on major museums worldwide from the end of May until the end of August, visiting countries like Italy, China and the UAE. Following the end of the tour, AB Infinite 1 will be auctioned by a major auction house.

A selection of Bonaceto’s portraits will also be incorporated into the digital installation, which honour people part of Andrea’s life and as well as people of influence such as Valentina Tereshkova the first woman in space, the late George Floyd, environmental activist Greta Thunberg, astronaut Neil Armstrong and The Queen amongst others.