With the art series TULIP MANIA, artist Sven Sauer dares an experiment without knowing how it will end.

A self-destruction mechanism is built into the artworks by smart contract.
With every resale of the paintings, they destroy themselves piece by piece.

The large-format light and sound installation contains 5 digital works that show radiant tulip landscapes."Tulipmania" is based on the first documented speculative bubble of mankind.

In the 17th century, the exotic plant gained a high reputation. It became a rarity, not least because of its susceptibility to disease. That fueled the market even more. Within a very short time, a tulip bulb was worth more than a family home in Amsterdam. This trade is possible even if the buyers have no money at all and put everything on resale. Even just the prospect of acquiring a new bulb was speculated on. The bubble burst and the recession began. The tulips are completely disappearing from the Dutch scene. For decades, even depictions in family crests were considered ominous.

Speculative transactions have also arrived in the art market. In the past, it would have been impossible to express a purely economic interest in art. But today, the question of what a work will be worth in two years has become increasingly commonplace. The speculator has joined the classic collector type. 

Sven Sauer creates works that expose these speculators. The decay of the pictures is irreversible: the former state cannot be restored. With these works, the responsibility for a work of art is transferred to the collector.

The collector has to decide: Are they interested in the quick buck, destroying the work irrevocably - or do they want to preserve the artwork for later generations?

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