In conversation with Vaishnavi Murali, Founder, Eikowa

How does the blockchain certification work? Why did you introduce it?

The blockchain certification means that the digital certificate of the art is registered on a blockchain. Registering on the blockchain implies that the certificate becomes one of a kind, and cannot be forged. We also attach a link to this registration on the actual painting to create a clear line of traceability. Overall, this ensures that neither the painting nor its certification canbe forged. 

How has been the response been from the artists and the buyers? 

The initiative has been launched ~2 months back, and we have had unanimous appreciation from several of our patrons and prospects during this time. 

Blockchain in art is prominent abroad? Do you think that the artists and consumers in India understand its importance. What are the challenges you are facing?

Indian art buyers and artists have experienced the pain point that the technology is solving for, i.e., solving for forgery and having a clear traceable provenance. This makes the problem relatable and hence, the solution. Over the years, Indian consumers have been exposed to blockchain applications like cryptocurrencies and NFTs so there is strong familiarity with the underlying technology too. In some cases, tech savvy consumers do want to understand more, and we help them through our FAQs as well as through our art advisory services.

What was the need for such a feature in India? Do you think that the Indian consumer is receptive to such solutions?

Establishment of clear provenance of any painting has always been a key pain point for the art community in India. With the steady growth and appreciation in Indian art over the last few years, incidence of forgery has also increased. Our internal estimates suggest that forged/ copied Indian art market is ~20-30% of the original art market. With strides in blockchain technology, we had the perfect tool to tackle this, and hence, we have focused on solving this problem now. As highlighted above, if our interactions and demand patterns are any indicator, we see technologies like these becoming the key criteria on which artists and galleries are considered by the art buyers

How does one get the certification? 

Currently, we do it directly at our end and share the blockchain certification with the clients who buy from us, given it is a technologically complex problem.

Could you name some of the prominent artists listed with you?

Seema Kohli, Gurmeet Marwah, G Subramanian and a few more 

How does the system work?

Each work purchased from Eikowa will have two accompaniments:- 

A)  A non- replicable digital certificate registered on Bitcoin blockchain (the blockchain powering Bitcoin, the most established cryptocurrency) 

B)  A temper-evident tag that contains this digital certificate and is tagged to the physical art work. Currently, we do it directly for our artists as the process is tech-intensive. This is a service we offer to our clients free of cost. 

(Brand Desk Content)