ripcache’s neutral from the public//private series explores permanence. It comprises two components: a 2x2 ft black, white, and neon green screen print on a metal panel and a corresponding digital artwork on the Ethereum blockchain. The artwork comments on surveillance and data privacy.

The physical and digital pieces are identical. ripcache has minted the digital artwork and transferred it to a wallet whose private key’s only record is behind the physical artwork. To access the digital artwork, one must first purchase the physical piece, maintaining the interconnectedness between the digital and physical artworks. However, a choice arises for the collector. The collector must decide whether to scratch away the physical artwork in the area that contains the Ethereum private key. This scratching irreversibly separates the physical artwork from the digital. Does the value of the artwork lie in the physical or the digital artwork, or both?

How will that decision change when 64 co-owners get to vote on the outcome?