These two works embody different facets of artworld ‘anxiety of ownership’. Secret Artwork (Content)can be owned but, despite the information that this presentation of the token floods the viewer with, it can never be fully known. Its content is hidden, represented only by its apparently meaningless cryptographic hash identifier. Certificate of Inauthenticity turns the problem of ownership on its head by guaranteeing that the artist has *not* been involved in the production of the exhibited work. Contrasting them allows us to reflect on the ongoing evolution of concepts of property both in the NFT artworld, and in wider society.

Rhea Myers is an artist, hacker and writer originally from the UK now based in British Columbia, Canada. Her work places technology and culture in mutual interrogation to produce new ways of seeing the world as it unfolds around us.

Twitter: @rheaplex
Website: https://rhea.art/

Works

Right: Secret Artwork, 2018
ERC-721 Smart Contract, cryptographic hash, HTML5 web page
Platform: Custom smart contract
Website: https://rhea.art/secret-artwork

Left: Certificate of Inauthenticity: Balloon Dog, 2020
ERC-721 Smart Contract, 2D and 3D printed material, license texts
Platform: Custom smart contract
Websites: https://rhea.art/certificate-of-inauthenticity | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode