How an Art Collective Is Using Blockchain to Protest Police Brutality
The DADA Art Collective has undertaken a blockchain-centric art project called "No Justice No Peace" to promote Black Lives Matter and call for police reform. In collaboration with crypto veteran Dennison Bertram and using blockchain technologies from Arweave, OpenSea, and Mintbase, the collective published the names and faces of American police officers accused of killing unarmed black individuals as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
The project involved 10 artists who contributed to creating digital tokens representing 30 officers, including their alleged crimes and case statuses. Arweave's blockchain was utilized to associate a wallet with each person killed, holding the corresponding officer's information within the tokens. Notably, the private keys to these wallets were destroyed, ensuring that no one controls the tokens, and they cannot be censored, modified, or taken down.
The DADA Collective sees blockchain as a political statement, enabling organization and action outside of government control. By leveraging blockchain technology, they aim to raise awareness, create a permanent record, and challenge the accountability of those responsible for these incidents. The project, however, raises ethical questions about immutable digital records, and the artists involved prefer to remain anonymous due to potential repercussions from law enforcement.
The artwork in "No Justice No Peace" is simple and direct, with black and white photos accompanied by text. The intention is to remember and identify the individuals involved, preserving a record of their actions. While the criminal justice system has not proceeded with formal charges in many of these cases, projects like this aim to keep the information accessible and highlight the need for justice.
The concept of censorship resistance is relative, as governments could make it difficult to access affiliated websites or perform keyword searches related to the project. Additionally, the immutability of blockchain depends on the incentives and participants within the network. The Arweave blockchain, used for this project, is still in its early stages of adoption.
Despite these limitations, legal experts see this art project as an interesting use case for memorializing information. Comparisons are drawn to the work of news reporters, who must consider ways to correct the record. As code is also considered speech, the project highlights the potential for innovation in protecting free speech during this period.
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