Startbahn announced as the official partner to provide Blockchain Certification Service for Boedi Widjaja's Immortal Words Art Project as part of Singapore Art Week

Startbahn, Inc. (head office: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Taihei Shii; hereinafter referred to as Startbahn), a leading Japanese art tech company, proudly announces its official partnership with Boedi Widjaja's groundbreaking art project, Immortal Words. The project, supported by the National Arts Council as part of Singapore Art Week, seamlessly blends the realms of art and science through the distribution of DNA artworks via gachapon machines.



Artwork Description:
Boedi Widjaja's Immortal Words transforms ultraconserved words, believed to have survived for 15,000 years, into DNA molecules dispensed through gachapon machines. Collaborating with geneticist Associate Professor Eric Yap, the project delves into the deep ancestral past and the memories embedded within these ancient words. Immortal Words is a testament to Boedi's decade-long exploration of body, memory, language, and encoding.



Artwork Interaction Explanation:
Visitors can obtain micro vials of DNA suspensions containing ultraconserved words in Southeast Asian languages from the gachapon machines. These words, such as Ashes, Black, Fire, and Mother, are encapsulated with a permanent digital archive as well as an NFT authenticity certificate secured by blockchain technology.

Blockchain Certificates issued on Startrail:
The authenticity and provenance of every vial is supported by a digital certificate issued on Startbahn's blockchain infrastructure, Startrail (SRR). Buyers can effortlessly receive the certificate through Startbahn's FUN FAN NFT application by scanning the QR code enclosed in the capsule.

Exhibition Details:
・　42 Waterloo Street (venue of the exhibition Immortal Words) | 19 Jan - 20 Feb 2024
　・　Mon, Tue: By appointment through art@beautifulbanal only. Except 22 and 23 Jan | 12 - 7pm.
　・　 Wed - Sat | 12pm - 7pm
　・　Sun | 12pm - 5pm
　・　Free Admission
・　ArtSG Platform presented by ShanghART @ Marina Bay Sands | 18 - 21 Jan 2024
　・　VIP Preview (by invitation): 18 Jan | 2pm – 5pm
　・　Vernissage: 18 Jan | 5pm–9pm
　・　Ticketed admission:
　・　19 Jan | 12pm – 7pm.
　・　20 Jan | 11am – 7pm.
　・　Sun, 21 January | 11am – 5pm
・　National Library Building, Ground Floor Lobby, 19 Jan - 21 Feb 2024 | Daily | 10am - 9pm| Free Admission
・　PRESSPLAY - National Library Board’s Biennial Arts Festival LASTPLAY in Plaza 2 - 3 Feb 2024 | 5pm - 10pm
・　Aliwal Urban Art Festival, 27 Jan 2024 |12pm - late | Free Admission
・　Aliwal Arts Centre | 28 Jan - 26 Feb 2024 | Daily | 9am - 11pm | Free Admission
・　de Suantio Gallery, Singapore Management University | early Feb 2024 | opening date TBC

Panel Discussion - Immortality: Words, Art, and DNA:
・　Panelists:
　・　Assoc. Prof. Eric Yap, LKC School of Medicine, NTU
　・　Taihei Shii, Startbahn Founder and CEO
　・　Boedi Widjaja, Artist
・　Moderator: Loredana Pazzini-Paracciani
・　Date and Venue: Sat, 20 Jan 2024, 11 am to 12:30 pm, Black Box, 42 Waterloo Street, Singapore (Taihei Shii joining from Tokyo); livestream is also available
・　Admission (real-life): Free with registration via https://immortalitywordsartdna.peatix.com/
・　Admission (livestream): Free with registration via https://onlineimmortalitywordsartdna.peatix.com/

The panel will explore the timeless nature of art through blockchain technology and delve into the intersection of words, art, and DNA.

Boedi Widjaja is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice contemplates on house, home and homeland through long-running, interdisciplinary series developed in parallel. Informed by the intercultural liminality of his migrant experience, his works span across diverse media. He has exhibited in biennales and museums internationally, including the Thailand Biennale, Chiang Rai; Tropical, 9th Asia Pacific Triennial, 6th Singapore Biennale, Diaspora Pavilion Live Art program in the 57th Venice Biennale, FACT Liverpool and Katonah Museum of Art. Boedi is represented by ShanghART.

Taihei Shii is a contemporary artist and the founder and CEO of blockchain technology company Startbahn, and the CEO of media company Tokyo Art Beat. He holds a BA in oil painting from the Tama Art University and a MS in interdisciplinary information studies from the University of Tokyo. He has served as Adjunct Professor in Tokyo University of the Arts, Research Fellow at Interspace Research Center, Institute of Industrial Science, and since 2022 is director of Eastern Culture Foundation.

Assoc. Prof. Eric Yap, a medical geneticist and a former Rhodes Scholar, is Associate Professor at LKC School of Medicine in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. As one of the few researchers with dual backgrounds in medicine and biology, his professional interest is in molecular microbiology and genomics. Over the course of his career, he has helped tackle Covid-19 and other epidemics, developed PCR for detecting biothreats, studied ancient DNA in archaeological specimens, analysed forensics in Asian populations, and researched the genes for common conditions like myopia. He has interdisciplinary collaborations with doctors, computer scientists, engineers, pastors and artists. He is now at IDMxS, where he is developing next generation methods and applications for analysing DNA.

Loredana Pazzini-Paracciani is an independent scholar and curator of Southeast Asian contemporary art. Her research and curatorial practice revolve around critical sociopolitical issues in Southeast Asia, advocating a counter-hegemonic and non-Western-centric discourse. Together with Patrick D. Flores, she co-edited the anthology Interlaced Journeys: Diaspora and the Contemporary in Southeast Asian Art, published in 2020 by Osage Art Foundation, Hong Kong. Loredana served as one of the curators for the Bangkok Art Biennale 2022.

About Startbahn:
Startbahn is a leading Japanese art tech company providing essential technology to artists and the art industry. Operating Startrail, a sustainable and scalable blockchain infrastructure, Startbahn ensures the reliability, authenticity, and traceability of artworks.
For more information, visit: https://startbahn.io/

About Startrail:
Startrail, Startbahn's blockchain infrastructure, guarantees the reliability, authenticity, and traceability of artworks. It serves as a collection management tool for physical and digital works.
For more information, visit: https://startbahn.io/

About FUN FAN NFT:
FUN FAN NFT is an NFT marketing solution that simplifies the user experience by connecting the real world and the digital world with QR codes.
For more information, visit: https://funfan-nft.com/lp