Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, they say, and Italian artist Salvatore Garau has gone some way to proving that. He's managed to sell an invisible sculpture for more than US $18,000 (AUD $23,300 / £12,700).
When we say it's invisible, that's exactly what we mean. There was nothing physical or tangible to hand over to the willing buyer.
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To be fair, the one thing the buyer did walk away with was a certificate of authentication.
The piece is officially called 'Lo Sono' which means 'I am' in his native tongue.
Sounds reasonable.
Garau told Diario AS: "When I decide to 'exhibit' an immaterial sculpture in a given space, that space will concentrate a certain amount and density of thoughts at a precise point, creating a sculpture that, from my title, will only take the most varied forms.
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"After all, don't we shape a God we've never seen?"
Well... he's got us there, I suppose.
The artist mandates that the sculpture (which, if we need to remind you, is literally nothing) should be displayed in a 5×5-foot square setting in a private space that is free from obstructions and where lighting and climate control are not required.
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The 67-year-old explained: "The vacuum is nothing more than a space full of energy, and even if we empty it and there is nothing left, according to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, that 'nothing' has a weight.
"Therefore, it has energy that is condensed and transformed into particles, that is, into us."
Of course.
People were expecting Lo Sono to sell for between $6,000 to $9,000 ahead of the sale, however it sold for more than double those estimates.
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Garau believes he's started a 'new, small, authentic revolution' with his artistic vision and will be selling other invisible works.
One is titled 'Aphrodite Piange', which means Aphrodite cries, and is being displayed in New York with the help of the Italian Cultural Institute. This one is slightly different because while the sculpture is invisible, it rests on a circle on the ground and that can be seen.
His first invisible piece was called 'Buddha in contemplation' and was placed in Piazza della Scala, in Milan. You can see a video of this piece at the top of this article. According to an explanation posted to his Instagram: "You do not see it but it exists; it is made of air and spirit."
Right.
Featured Image Credit: Salvatore Garau/InstagramTopics: News, Interesting