Ayzenberg’s sp[a]ce gallery has launched its first-ever virtual NFT (non-fungible token) gallery. Titled “NotForThought,” the gallery’s inaugural NFT being auctioned is an exploration of the brave new world of “ownership” and was created by Somsara Rielly—Los Angeles artist, illustrator and animator whose work unearths hidden connections and messages.

All of the animation for the one-of-a-kind stop-motion NFT, which is one minute and 16 seconds long, was created in-camera with hand-cut practical materials, Rielly told AList. “NotForThought” marks Rielly’s first NFT.

“I had been experimenting with stop-motion animation for a while and was hearing about NFTs. I was a little reluctant frankly about the whole thing. It’s all very new and experimental. So I dove into it. Ultimately, what I came away with is I don’t know how I feel about all this, so I’m just going to explore it by using the medium to explore it,” said Rielly.

The NFT’s soundscape was composed by music producer and composer Lem Jay Ignacio, whose music has been featured by the likes of Pokémon, Netflix and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

“NotForThought” is for sale on NFT marketplace OpenSea from now until August 9th at 5 pm PDT. Bidding started at $749.89, or 0.2895 WETH — Wrapped ETH, a currency that enables users to make pre-authorized bids that can be fulfilled at a later time without any further action from the bidder.

“The reasons behind why people buy [NFTs] is fascinating to me. Whether it’s futurists, people who are hedging their bets or people who are like, “I have to own this for nostalgia purposes.” It raises so many questions. It’s fascinating. In some ways, that means anything can be an NFT,” Rielly added.

Put simply, NFTs are digital collectibles. They exploded onto the digital art scene in March when Christie’s’ first online NFT auction saw digital artist Beeple’s “Everydays: the First 5000 Days” get sold for the unprecedented price of $69 million. Ever since then, notable brands have entered the NFT space including Taco Bell, Gucci, Charmin, Coca-Cola and Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Opened three years ago in Old Pasadena, sp[a]ce is a Kunsthaus project that showcases the work of progressive local and international artists in an environment created by Corsini Stark Architects. 

According to Alana Balagot, Ayzenberg’s creative solutions lead who’s overseeing the digital aspect of the new gallery, sp[a]ce has plans to auction additional NFTs in the near future.