An Italian artist has sold an invisible sculpture for £13,000 and given the buyer a certificate of authenticity to prove it is real.
Sardinian-born Salvatore Garau, 67, sold the artwork, titled 'I am', to an unidentified buyer earlier this month.
The 'air and spirit' sculpture is intended to be displayed in a 5ft by 5ft square in a private space without artificial lighting or air conditioning.
The 67-year-old described the piece as a 'vacuum' because 'the vacuum is nothing more than a space full of energy'.
'Even if we empty it and there is nothing left, according to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, that 'nothing' has a weight', Garau told Hypebeast.
'Therefore, it has energy that is condense and transformed into particles, that is, into us.'
Italian auction house Art-Rite which organised the sale of the sculpture, has refused to reveal the name of the buyer.
It follows his earlier work - another invisible sculpture titled 'Buddha in Contemplation'.
The 67-year-old shared a short video of the earlier piece on Instagram last month. It shows a tape square in the middle of an empty Piazza della Scala, Milan.
His previous works include a 2005 abstract painting on a 650ft piece of tarpulin, which was then hung across scaffolding around a church in Milan.
And in 2006, he produced 'Ichthys Sacro Stagno', creating large ponds on the floors of three churches, which he then filled with fish from nearby lakes.
An Italian artist Salvatore Garau, has auctioned off an invisible sculpture for about $18,300. The artwork “Io Sono” — “I am” in Italian — was described as an “immaterial” sculpture, i.e., it does not exist, or if it does, it exists in its creator’s mind. https://t.co/Cvl7unpGpf
— Keerthik Sasidharan (@KS1729) June 1, 2021
His last piece has sparked controversy online, with several people quick to offer to sell their own 'exquisite invisible artworks'.
Others wondered if they were only ones thinking the whole story was a joke.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
