NFT News: Oefner’s Lamborghini Space Key
600 million out of this world pixels on the auction block
INTERVIEWED BY Emily Bunn
February 28, 2022
As the world of crypto-traders, NFTS, and digital currencies continues to gain popularity, Lamborghini has decided to key into the action. Developed in cooperation with RM Sotheby’s, NFT PRO – a leading enterprise that involved in white label solution NFT campaigns, and renowned Swiss artist Fabian Oefner, Lamborgini’s Space Key marks the automaker’s introduction to the world of Non-Fungible Tokens.
The Space Key NFT is constructed from a piece of advanced carbon fiber composite that is out of this world – literally. After traveling to space in 2019 as part of a joint research venture project, the physical sample has returned to Earth and became part of Lamborghini’s NFT project. There are five units of this composite material, each of which are linked to an individual piece of digital artwork.
Artist Oefner spoke exclusively with EQ Magazine about how his collaboration with Lamborghini first began, “Lamborghini and I have a long-standing relationship, that goes back for almost a decade. From time to time, we discuss current ideas and concepts in the art world and see how we can bring them to the world of Lamborghini.”
“In the case of the NFT project, I suggested the project to Lamborghini after learning about the carbon space, that they sent to outer space. It seemed like a wonderful opportunity to combine a physical (The Space Key) with a digital element (The Photograph).” NFT-holders will be able to scan a QR code that is engraved into the back of the carbon fiber piece on the Space Key to access the digital artwork.
Lamborghini has revealed that the first series in their NFT collection is titled, “Space Time Memory.” Oefner’s 600-million-pixel images, which depict a Lamborghini Ultimae lifting off in space and becoming deconstructed, showcase 1,500 of the car’s parts dislodging from the vehicle.
Oefner explains the original inspiration behind the concept of the Ultimae launching into space as a rocket, “It all stemmed from the carbon fiber piece that was sent to the ISS. Because of that, we wanted the art piece to revolve around outer space as well. As inspiration for the image, I looked at the photographs of the Saturn V rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral in the ‘60s. The image I created should convey a similar sense of pioneering spirit that people got from seeing that space craft launching into the sky.”
A total of five Space Keys have been created, each depict individual moments that occur seconds apart from each other as the car rises above the earth.
Oefner photographed each nut, bolt, and screw individually. Furthermore, by launching a balloon with a camera into the stratosphere, he was able to capture an image of the earth’s gentle, blue-hued curvature. By assembling all of his individual shots – which took over two months – Oefner depicts a hyper-realistic moment that never happened.
“For me, Space Time Memory is an analogy to the memories we make in life,” says Fabian Oefner in a Lamborghini press statement. “Memories are rooted in the physical world; we make them in reality. We then store them in our brains, what could be considered the digital world.”
Lamborghini has revealed that the first series in their NFT collection is titled, “Space Time Memory.” Oefner’s 600-million-pixel images, which depict a Lamborghini Ultimae lifting off in space and becoming deconstructed, showcase 1,500 of the car’s parts dislodging from the vehicle.
Providing further insight into the meaning behind his artwork, Oefner explains in a statement, “I’m a child of the space age, so I grew up with the images of the space shuttle launching into the night sky. To me, this piece is not about a car. It’s about memories. The project is not only about taking the car apart, it’s about the space key as well, that carbon fiber key, and it really brings the two worlds together, the digital and the physical worlds. That is what excites me.”
“When I tried to come up with an idea, how can I make the ultimate show, and show it in a way that was never seen before I came up with the concept of the car launching into the sky like a rocket. It’s metaphysical, because Ultimae in Latin means ‘last,’ but also’ farthest.’ The farthest place we have ever been was the moon, so it is pointed to the moon because it is the place that stirs our imagination. We’re all explorers and we like to discover new worlds,” continues Oefner.
Bids on Lamborghini’s five Space Time Memory NFT lots commenced from February 1st–February 4th, 2022. Oefner reported that the five pieces sold for almost 660,000 USD combined.
