TAN-TAN: Art, Ordinals, and the Fabric of Reality
Orange Cube proudly presents Reality is Broken and Reality.exe by the multi-disciplinary artist TAN-TAN. These groundbreaking works are released using Bitcoin Ordinals, a novel method of secure data storage on Bitcoin, providing both immutable provenance and verifiable ownership. Each ordinal is inscribed on a satoshi, the smallest unit of Bitcoin.
TAN-TAN's twin drops are closely related:
- Reality.exe: A cohesive body of work composed of 1000 editions.
- Reality is Broken: Will be released as 15 editions.
Both pieces utilize cyberspace aesthetics to create intimate, immersive experiences which blend the virtual and physical, the external and internal.
About the Artist: TAN-TAN
TAN-TAN is a traditionally trained Flemish painter from India. She has studied Renaissance masters such as Caravaggio, Pontormo, and William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Her practice has evolved beyond oil painting, embracing 3D animations and more. Utilizing LLMs—the tool behind modern AI—as a second brain, TAN-TAN taught herself programming to tackle multiple technical mediums. Her oeuvre contains Neo-classical compositions with strong influences from Eastern Pop-Culture.
TAN-TAN walks the line between cutting-edge contemporary aesthetics and intellectual rigor. Her work is released rarely and with tremendous intention. She explores themes of Hypermediacy, Techno-determinism, Posthumanism, and the Cyborg. Her use of novel mediums makes her art a participatory experience. New and non-linear narratives are created, unique to each viewer as they grapple with the medium to find the message.
Exploring the Works
Reality.exe: The Thousandfold Mystery
TAN-TAN's Reality.exe – the edition of a thousand – reveals core themes accompanied by mysteries which guide viewers across tradition and speculation, narrative and philosophy. The work is an engaging puzzle, one that provides a valuable introduction to TAN-TAN's motifs and her process of creation.
Reality.exe questions the viewer's engagement with their own thinking as they navigate a world of info-tech. It provokes questions such as, ‘How does our interfacing with digital culture impact cultural preservation and growth, and how does it change our ways of feeling?’ Reality.exe has elements which are linked through code and can change the experience of Reality is Broken.
Reality is Broken: The Monolith
TAN-TAN’s Reality is Broken, the edition of 15, is a “monolith.” TAN-TAN captures a “secular sacredness” in the work by immersing the viewer in a mixed-media mystery reminiscent of a temple. She accomplishes this through wielding art in the medium of software. An encounter with Reality is Broken requires the viewer to become a digital archaeologist.
“The viewer, acting as archaeologist, must gain access to what the monolith hides in plain sight through exploring a digital interface.”
Only through Reality is Broken as interactive art does the monolith reveal encrypted information obscured within runic scriptures, cuneiform etchings, and hieroglyphs. TAN-TAN juxtaposes the aesthetic of ancient communication with a cypherpunk User Interface that responds actively to the viewer's exploration with visuals, sound, and secrets.
TAN-TAN describes Reality is Broken as “a total body of work, similar to renaissance frescoes which were an extension of the architecture they were situated in and the people who lived within.” Reality is Broken dances on the border of art and game. By questioning art-historical traditions as they relate to our Information Age technology, new contrasts of aesthetics and concept emerge.
TAN-TAN is keen to acknowledge that for the archaeologist who chooses to explore Reality is Broken, they will find the piece to be in conversation with her seminal work 404 Reality Not Found. This connection emerges through “coded pathways and thematic bridges” which open upon further examination.
Orange Cube: Our Vision
We are proud to share TAN-TAN’s work, as her exceptional craft aligns with our vision for Orange Cube. We are an Art House dedicated to showcasing the finest emerging digital art, inscribing it onto Bitcoin, and providing curated collections accessible to all collectors. Orange Cube is a collaborative effort of Curators, Writers, Developers, and Artists.
Our mission goes beyond art offerings; aiming to stoke innovation and foster a vibrant community around on-chain art inscriptions. With forward-thinking curation, we will elevate provocative and boundary-pushing artistic voices, build sustainable careers, and expand on-chain art patronage.
Guided by this mission, Bitcoin Ordinals emerge front-and-center as the premier way to preserve an artist's legacy. Ordinals provide truly secure, decentralized data storage in a format ripe for collecting thoughtful art.