More than glass (2020)

105collective’s inaugural project More than Glass (2020) presents the work of five UK artists in a virtual reality gallery hosted on Ethereum blockchain world Cryptovoxels.

The installation consists of five rooms—one for each artist—featuring works exploring the theme of isolation, created specifically for this exhibition. The gallery itself creates an experience of both isolation and shared space: transparent windows between rooms allow visitors to catch a glimpse of the other artists' works.

A large piece made collaboratively by all the artists – eponymously named More Than Glass – adorns the outside of the gallery building, above the front door. Tokenized on pioneering programmable blockchain art platform Async and its master token collected by Metapurse, the piece’s component layers may be changed at will by their various collectors Basileus, Roham, AfroViking, and Audsssy, resulting in the possibility of an ever-shifting artwork.

More than Glass reflects how, in these unprecedented times, our ways of interacting socially and professionally are inevitably evolving, changing our communal and individual perspectives.

One of 105collective’s aims is to introduce mainstream audiences to the world of digital art on shared-reality platforms. The piece is easily and freely accessible to all via a standard internet browser on any device. Visitors may interact live with each other as well as with the artists. 

Pop in and explore the exhibition – and watch our interview with Serena Tabacchi of MoCDA discussing the project.

Snow

The room was suddenly rich and the great bay-window was
Spawning snow and pink roses against it
Soundlessly collateral and incompatible:
World is suddener than we fancy it.

World is crazier and more of it than we think,
Incorrigibly plural. I peel and portion
A tangerine and spit the pips and feel
The drunkenness of things being various.

And the fire flames with a bubbling sound for world
Is more spiteful and gay than one supposes–
On the tongue on the eyes on the ears in the palms of your hands–
There is more than glass between the snow and the huge roses.

Louis MacNeice (1907 – 1963) 1935