LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 02: Artist Philip Colbert (L) arrives with a cigarette smoking lobster at a private view of "Philip Colbert: New Paintings" at The Saatchi Gallery on October 2, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 02: Artist Philip Colbert (L) arrives with a cigarette smoking lobster at a private view of "Philip Colbert: New Paintings" at The Saatchi Gallery on October 2, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 02: Artist Philip Colbert (L) arrives with a cigarette smoking lobster at a private view of "Philip Colbert: New Paintings" at The Saatchi Gallery on October 2, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 02: Artist Philip Colbert (L) arrives with a cigarette smoking lobster at a private view of "Philip Colbert: New Paintings" at The Saatchi Gallery on October 2, 2017 in Londo

Start-up uses art of blockchain to protect artists' work


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Contemporary artist Philip Colbert, whose colourful, high-spirited art is finding buyers around the world, had been toying with the idea of creating his own catalogue system to prove the authenticity of his expanding body of work.

“I had a dealer in Japan who had been telling me I needed to have better forms of certification for my artwork, because people are buying art as an investment,” said the British artist, who appropriates pop culture images in his paintings, fashion and furniture. “Art is a currency in a way; at the end of the day when they come to auction, the provenance is a very important element of their value.”

Then he met Rob Norton, the founder of Verisart, a US-based start-up that’s using blockchain, the ledger technology underlying Bitcoin, to verify the authenticity of artwork. It’s a problem as old as art itself, says Mr Norton, and artists have long been unreliable when it comes to documenting their own work. As far back as the 17th century, Rembrandt’s dealer complained of his client’s poor record-keeping, Mr Norton says.

Blockchain creates an immutable, traceable record of every transaction, whether it’s art changing hands or Bitcoin. Widespread adoption of the technology could give a boost to the market for art online, which has yet to explode. Online sales currently account for only about 8 per cent, or $5.4 billion, of the global art market, according to a report by UBS and Art Basel released this month.

Trust - or lack of it - is at the core of the challenge, with potential buyers baulking at the possibility of spending considerable sums on works whose provenance can’t be fully verified. Sources estimate the value of fraudulent activity in the global art market to exceed $6bn per year and 80 per cent of such activity is due to forgery, says Mr Norton, the former chief executive of Saatchi Online and Sedition Art.

Last year, three men were charged in New York with making counterfeit Damien Hirst prints and selling them online for more than $400,000, according to ArtNews. The arrest followed a sting operation by undercover New York police officers, who purchased two of the pieces, which were advertised as "limited edition" prints online, alongside fake certificates of authenticity and purchase receipts.

When it comes to art, “there’s a higher hurdle of trust that you have to clear, you have to know that what you’re buying is real,” says Mr Norton. “Art is the second-largest unregulated market after illicit drugs and it’s significantly overshadowed by fraudulent activity. You can accelerate trust and liquidity by providing better standards for verifiable, global certification.”

The 800-pound gorillas have already arrived. Google, Microsoft and IBM are all developing blockchain-related projects, a market already worth more than $700 million and growing rapidly. Such demand is fuelling several start-ups that use blockchain to verify artwork.

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Codex, based in San Francisco and London, is going after the collectibles market, for everything from art to jewellery to antique cars. It has drawn investment from Pantera Capital, a hedge fund that invests in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

Newly minted crypto-millionaires and billionaires will be natural art buyers, according to Pantera. Codex is also working on an application called Biddable that will allow cryptocurrencies to be used to bid in art auctions.

Verisart is also drawing investment. It has received funding from Rhodium, an early stage venture capital firm, Sinai Ventures from San Francisco and also issued convertible notes.

Verisart started in 2015 as a phone app for artists to create their own system of art verification. That approach didn’t take off, says Mr Norton. Then the company built a Web app working with Ahmed Elgammal, a computer science professor at Rutgers University.

“We were a little bit early, we were figuring out where the market was, getting feedback from artists, and building a platform that people could use,” Mr Norton says. “Now increasingly working with partners, those certificates can be customised.”

Colbert’s certificates, for example, contain small reproductions of the piece itself called “image hashes”, along with all of the relevant information about its creation, ownership and movement, such as whether it was part of an exhibition. He’ll have a show in Tokyo in September and Beijing next February.

Since Verisart uses the unaltered Bitcoin blockchain rather than a customised version, one risk may be that its effort can be easily replicated, since it brings little in the way of new technology. Some collectors, particularly those who buy and sell privately, may also be reluctant to share their information in such a public way.

“The blockchain is a more efficient method of verification,” Colbert says. “You’re not worried about the authentic value of your work, because it’s all about locking down the time and place. Then all those fakes aren’t doing you any damage. All those fake Mona Lisas don’t do the Mona Lisa any harm.”

Ultimately, putting art on the blockchain could lead to a decentralised art registry that would cover a significant amount of the world’s art.

“Over time, different registries will be able to share those image hashes and you could consolidate and build effectively a decentralised art registry,” Mr Norton says. “There won’t be just one registry out there for all the art and collectibles’ markets but we do see the basis to build a decentralised title registry on the back of image hashes and cryptographic proofs.”

The service may potentially become popular among artists selling limited edition prints, Mr Norton says. Shepard Fairey, a Los Angeles-based artist best known for his portraits of the US President Barack Obama and pictures of immigrants, was so impressed that he not only started using Verisart, he also invested in the company.

“We’re excited to see Verisart develop and meet artist and gallery requirements for trusted digital certification,” say Shepard and Amanda Fairey, his wife and business partner. “As artists move away from paper-based certificates of authenticity to digital ones, Verisart continues to add to and improve its service.”

Fairey’s art is widely copied and can be seen at protests and other political events, so verification can be key.

Blockchain certification on its own may increasingly turn into a generic service, potentially being explored by big players such as Facebook and Microsoft. But Verisart’s ability to allow artists to customise their own certificates and image hashes will give it a competitive edge, Mr Norton argues.

“Our view is that there won’t be just one registry out there for all the art and collectibles," he says.

“But we do see the basis to build a decentralised title registry on the back of image hashes and cryptographic proofs.”

Our legal advisor

Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.

Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.

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Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books

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Company profile

Name: Fruitful Day

Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie

Based: Dubai, UAE

Founded: 2015

Number of employees: 30

Sector: F&B

Funding so far: Dh3 million

Future funding plans: None at present

Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries

Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company

Sole survivors
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  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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v Panama, Group Stage (Harry Kane)

v Panama, Group Stage (Kane)

v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)

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v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)

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v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)

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School counsellors on mental well-being

Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.

Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.

Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.

“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.

“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.

“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.

“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”

Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.

The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.

At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.

“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.

“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.

"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”

SERIES INFO

Cricket World Cup League Two
Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series
Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
 
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal

Table
The top three sides advance to the 2022 World Cup Qualifier.
The bottom four sides are relegated to the 2022 World Cup playoff

 1 United States 8 6 2 0 0 12 0.412
2 Scotland 8 4 3 0 1 9 0.139
3 Namibia 7 4 3 0 0 8 0.008
4 Oman 6 4 2 0 0 8 -0.139
5 UAE 7 3 3 0 1 7 -0.004
6 Nepal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 PNG 8 0 8 0 0 0 -0.458

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While you're here
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES

Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)

Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)

Saturday

Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)

Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)

Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)

Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)

Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)

Sunday

Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)

Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)

Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)

 

 

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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.