Oviators eyewear with geometric lenses.

Oviators (2023)

Demand-defined releaseEyewear and digital redemption records

With Salvino Armati

Oviators (2023) is an eyewear collaboration with Salvino Armati. The black frameless lenses use the geometric silhouette associated with Opepen, moving an image encountered online onto the wearer’s face.

From token to object

The artist’s 8 December 2023 launch post describes a 72-hour release on Base. It announces a physical eyewear redemption and says the token will transform into a generative work when redeemed. That account is more specific than describing the token simply as a receipt.

In April 2024, Butcher explains the proposed image rule: a serial number becomes binary, using a half-loop for 1 and a circle for 0. Certain number patterns invert the canvas colors.

Where it appeared

The launch invitation gives a Wynwood address—316 NW 25th—and invites visitors to try prototypes. OpenSea’s report places the debut during Miami’s Art Basel week. Together these identify a presentation outside the fair; they do not establish participation in the Art Basel Miami Beach fair itself.

An image worn in public

The wearer carries a recognizable internet form into everyday space. The project’s connection to Opepen is visual and social; the evidence reviewed does not give eyewear holders the set-selection powers of Opepen tokens. This distinction keeps a collaboration from being mistaken for the original protocol.

Redemption as a developing process

An 8 April post schedules the claim for 15 April. On 16 April, Butcher reports a bug affecting redemption for credit-card purchases. The chronology documents a delay and the artist’s response rather than treating the original first-quarter plan as a completed outcome.

Development

  1. Launch and Wynwood prototype invitation. Source

  2. The artist explains binary serial-number compositions and announces a claim date. Source

  3. A post reports a redemption bug affecting credit-card purchases. Source

Sources and further reading

  • Artist / studio · Selected posts from the downloaded account archive

    Oviators: launch and the Wynwood invitation

    3 selected posts. The December launch explains redemption and gives the address of the prototype presentation. Original wording and links are preserved; headings and notes are editorial. This is artist testimony, not independent verification.

  • Artist / studio · Selected posts from the downloaded account archive

    Oviators: serial numbers, images and redemption

    7 selected posts, through 2024-04-16. An April explanation connects serial numbers with binary compositions; a later update records a redemption problem. Original wording and links are preserved; headings and notes are editorial. This is artist testimony, not independent verification.

  • Gallery / platform · Marketplace news digest

    This Week in Web3 and NFTs: Jack Butcher, [REDACTED], Flipkart & more

    Records the December 8 release and Wynwood presentation; Q1 2024 redemption is a plan in this source, not a completion record.

Related work and context