In 2021, Particle auctioned off pieces of street artist Banksy’s painting, Love is in the Air, as an NFT. Banksy is a pseudonymous “guerilla” graffiti street artist. His artwork shows up all over the world: London, New Orleans, and the West Bank. Google even has a showcase page for 11 Banksy murals using their street view technology.

Why are we talking about Banksy? Because he’s an example of how AR glasses will enable anyone who wears them to turn the world into a canvas. Banksy uses his murals to display cultural and political content. Particle chose Banksy’s painting to auction because the “daring, humanitarian nature and a strong belief that art should be for everyone reflects the mission at Particle,” said Loïc Gouzer, co-founder of Particle. [24] Particle CEO, Harold Eytan said, “The whole point of this project is to build the greatest collection in the world, owned digitally by the community and preserved physically by the foundation.” [25]

Imagine a world overlaid with digital murals. No longer bound to walls and buildings, the artwork will display as though it is a cloud in the sky. It will move along with us as we drive down the road. It will enhance the small details that make our planet such an amazing place. You can choose to enter the artwork and be transported to a completely virtual world.

Social media, for all its data mining, privacy violations, and questionable business practices, has shown that, given an outlet, everyone wants to be a creator. Sure, becoming an influencer is nice. But the prospect of creating and making something that’s completely one’s own is attracting people to various photo and video platforms.

What if we could bypass the algorithms to let our art and creativity shine?

Banksy street view: [Banksy street link]