On 13th May The ARX will drop visual motion designer and digital artist MRE’s unique NFT collection ‘TIME’ comprising three emotive animated works on world leading NFT platform Nifty Gateway. The collection was influenced by the recent passing of MRE’s close family members, a pivotal moment for the artist that centred his thoughts on the inevitable passing of time and how precious this can be. The works depict hourglasses, clocks, and butterflies, all motifs used within traditional still life Vanitas works, to express the fleeting nature of life.

The URLs for the two collection pages are as follows:
- Open Editions: https://niftygateway.com/collections/time-mre-arx-oe
- 1/1 Auction: https://niftygateway.com/collections/timeflies-mre-arx

TIME FLIES  (Edition 1 of 1, 48 hours)

‘TIME FLIES’ merges the digital and physical. The NFT, which shows a Rolex watch transforming into a kaleidoscope of butterflies, is partnered with a physical Rolex watch. The metamorphosis of the links of the watch evolving into butterflies demonstrates new life stemming from the passing of time.

SANDS OF TIME  (Limited to 300 editions, 48 hours)

‘SANDS OF TIME’ is an artwork dedicated to the artist’s late uncle and father. MRE says, “since the beginning of my career, I have had an all or nothing mindset, often forgetting about the most important things in life and not being able to dedicate time to the important things, worrying that my time is running out. The artwork represents how fragile we are as humans, we can often feel invincible.” The work presents metal chrome figures revolving around an hourglass. On first appearance they are rigid and non-malleable until they contort and fragment to fall through the hourglass. The piece is a reminder that all is not what it seems.

TIME DECAYS  (Limited to 300 editions, 48 hours)

This piece represents the fluidity of time between sleeping and dreaming, a space where time is meaningless, neither living, nor fully enveloped in deep sleep. A Dali inspired wind-up clock stands in the middle of a dream-like field melting into its mount, signifying how we have no control of the time we spend dreaming.

The fusing of the two worlds, digital and physical, will come to the fore during The ARX’s drop launch event with Nifty Gateway and MRE on 11th May which will take place at the gallery. To RSVP for the private event between 6-9pm GMT please contact becky@thearx.com. Spaces are first come, first served.