Pasta and the non-fungibles 

The impetus to launch a second series in this work is an urgent sense of cards falling out of place within fundamental structures of physical and digital exchange.

Our second participatory actor in this body of work is pasta, a traditional Italian noodle made from durum wheat flour and water. Its exact origins have not been established, though the myth that Marco Polo brought it from China in the 13th century has been refuted. Middle East trade influences likely introduced durum wheat to the Mediterranean, with the ingredient offering a long shelf life and high gluten content giving pasta its unique texture. Pasta was food for nobles in Italy until 17th-century industrial production brought it to the masses.

Food in its elemental sense fascinates. We fall back on common points of sustenance as population and consumption sophistication scales. Globally wheat flour is the second top calorie-providing agriculture product, and wheat has the largest crop harvested area.

In a complex production and trading system, inputs and cultivation are densely focused in some countries, even for a globally used ingredient like wheat. Inter-dependent modalities which operate smoothly under ideal conditions turn into chokepoints in times of conflict, unusual weather, transport breakages, and even pandemic lockdowns. The pasta’s storable existence becomes a reference position in a network of parallels and meridians.

Our 88 pasta non-fungibles

We continue to examine the evolving ecosystem surrounding NFTs and their roles as digital creations and tradables. In the first six months of 2022, NFT prices and transaction numbers dropped. “Crypto winter” also set in, with commentators citing factors such as rug-pull and phishing scandals, Terra-Luna collapse, skepticism on non-fungibility, and a general decline in risk appetite given US interest rate increase, potential regulation, war, and slower economy. Everything but not just…

Volatility is seemingly an accepted trait of this system; uncertainty its a necessary outcome. Technology arguments counter system losses to look beyond the curve, while collective and individual sequences are underlined by adaptive decisions.

 We position the DVS Pasta series in a consistent tiered structure with three variations denoting relative rarity – plain (80 units), silver (5 units), and gold (3 units). 88, an untouchable and palindromic number, offered in its totality.