The address space
1640 possible addresses, about 1.46 × 1048.
Estimate assumes independently generated, uniformly random addresses, each with a known private key, and a match against any of the 31 original receiving addresses.
2022
Dead Ringers
31 works · January 2022
Every day in January 2022, Cherniak generated an output from an algorithm, generated a random Ethereum address, and sent the work to that address. On January 31, the previous thirty Dead Ringers were assembled into a five-by-six grid and minted to another generated address.
With 16⁴⁰ possible addresses, it was almost guaranteed that none of the receiving wallets would ever be accessible. The project asked observers to consider the vastness of that address space and the security it provides to the network used to distribute the work.
- Dates
- 1–31 January 2022
- Originals
- 31 unique tokens
- Medium
- JavaScript-generated SVG; Performance
- Network
- Ethereum
1–31 January 2022
The complete collection
Thirty daily compositions, followed by the grid on January 31. Select a work to view it in full.
The experiment
Distribution to random wallet addresses
The random distribution protected against bots and ballot stuffing: there was no entry form, purchase, or action that could improve a wallet’s position in the selection. Yet the same mechanism made it extraordinarily unlikely that any of the works would ever be collected. Observers ascribed value to their scarcity and the odds of receiving one.
Some people tried generating millions of wallets in the hope of finding a matching address and gaining control of a work. Even generating a billion wallets every second, it would take roughly 15 octillion years to have just a one-in-a-hundred chance of accessing any of the original Dead Ringers.
The works remain visible to everyone. Controlling one requires the private key for its receiving address; knowing the address or seeing the token does not provide access.
The open edition
Dead Ringers: Edition
Dead Ringers: Edition reverses the premise of the original distribution. The January 31 work, known as the Dead Ringers grid, became available to all wallets through a 24-hour timed edition. Its cap was 16⁴⁰, the total number of possible Ethereum addresses: enough for every wallet to own one.
Each wallet could mint one edition. A wallet that already held a copy could not mint another. A total of 23,491 editions were minted, a vanishingly small fraction of the possible supply. Proceeds supported Food Bank For New York City, providing 16 million meals.
The ERC-1155 token points to the same PNG file on Arweave as the original January 31, 2022 token. The underlying artwork is exactly the same file; what changes is its availability.
Signed prints were offered to verified edition holders for a limited period, and an unsigned print was also produced. The physical edition let the thirty daily images be experienced together on paper.
