Artists Reflect on Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies

Simon Denny's 2016 exhibition 'Blockchain Future States' at Petzel Gallery in New York introduced blockchain concepts to the art world. The show combined conceptual experimentation with educational intent, aiming to make these topics accessible beyond tech and finance. Denny believes that work by visionary companies has the potential to change the foundations of money, sovereignty, and trust. Meanwhile, the exhibition 'New World Order' at Aksioma in Ljubljana runs until February 9, curated by Ruth Catlow and Marc Garrett of Furtherfield. It features works like Primavera De Filippi's 'Plantoid', a self-reproducing artificial life form that accumulates bitcoin, and 'Terra0' by Paul Seidler, Paul Kolling, and Max Hampshire, a self-managing forest using blockchain and smart contracts. 'The Satoshi Oath' by Jaya Klara Brekke and Elias Haase proposes a Hippocratic oath for developers. The exhibition debuted in London in May 2017 and is part of ongoing research compiled in the anthology 'Artists Re:Thinking the Blockchain' published by Liverpool University Press.