42-year-old artist selling one of her ovary eggs as an NFT, expects buyer to conceive child with it

A 42-year-old artist is selling one of the eggs as an NFT, and she said she expects the buyer to conceive a child with it.

Narine Arakelian, who is originally from Armenia but lives in Los Angeles, California, is showing a painting called Love, Hope, Live at Art Basel in Miami, Florida.

Part of the painting is also on sale as an NFT – but it comes with a twist. 

Whoever buys the piece of art also gets a contract for one of her reproductive eggs, and the Armenian artist said she fully expects the person who purchases it to use it. 

A 42-year-old artist is selling one of her eggs as an NFT, and she said she expects the buyer to conceive a child with it

Narine Arakelian, who is originally from Armenia but lives in Los Angeles, California, recently created a painting called Love, Hope, Live

Narine Arakelian, who is originally from Armenia but lives in Los Angeles, California, recently created a painting called Love, Hope, Live

What are NFTs?  

What is a NFT?

A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is a unique digital token encrypted with an artist’s signature and which verifies its ownership and authenticity and is permanently attached to the piece.

What do they look like?

Most NFTs include some kind digital artwork, such as photos, videos, GIFs, and music. Theoretically, anything digital could be turned into a NFT.  

Where do you buy them?

At the moment, NFTs are most commonly sold in so-called ‘drops’, timed online sales by blockchain-backed marketplaces like Nifty Gateway, Opensea and Rarible.

Why would I want to own one? 

There’s an array of reasons why someone may want to buy a NFT. The reason may be emotional value, because NFTs are seen as collectors items. They are also seen as an investment opportunity because the value could increase.

Narine has not named a price for the NFT and appears to be willing to sell it to the highest bidder.

The artist, who has a 21-year-old son of her own, said she is excited to ‘bring a child into the world’ through her work, and hopes to sell it to a couple who is struggling with fertility.

‘It’s a beautiful act of creativity to give the gift of art and life,’ she told Page Six.

‘My artworks are all my children and the fact this one will actually produce a child is wonderful.

‘The art will always mean so much to the buyer because it brought them their child. It will always carry that special memory.’

The painting contains the words ‘love,’ ‘hope,’ and ‘live,’ but she will only be selling the portion that says ‘live’ as the NFT.

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are a type of digital art used in cryptocurrency. 

Narine – who was born in Siberia and graduated from the State Surikov Institute in Moscow in 2015 – appears to be selling a digital copy of the ‘live’ panel from the art she has on display in Miami this month.

The contract for her egg is embedded in the NFT. 

The mother-of-one, who now splits her time between LA and Venice, Italy, told Fortune Magazine that she intends to make good on that contract.

Once the buyer is ready,Narnie will undergo ‘a procedure fully supervised by doctors and experts’ to retreive an egg.

However, she did not indicate whether she would be willing to undergo multiple rounds of egg retrieval if the first one is unsuccessful. 

Narine said she is so excited to 'bring a child into the world' through her work, and hopes to sell it to a couple who is struggling with fertility

Narine said she is so excited to ‘bring a child into the world’ through her work, and hopes to sell it to a couple who is struggling with fertility

The mom-of-one told Fortune Magazine that once the buyer is ready, she will undergo 'a procedure fully supervised by doctors and experts' to get them their egg

The mom-of-one told Fortune Magazine that once the buyer is ready, she will undergo ‘a procedure fully supervised by doctors and experts’ to get them their egg

She said she spent more than a year deciding whether or not it was the right thing to do, and now describes it as the 'biggest gift she can give'

She said she spent more than a year deciding whether or not it was the right thing to do, and now describes it as the ‘biggest gift she can give’

Female fertility after age 40

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, women are most fertile from their late teens to late 20s.  

Fertility starts to decline for women by age 30, and the decline becomes more rapid in a woman’s mid-30s. Medically speaking, 35 and up is considered advanced maternal age.

By 40, less than half of a woman’s eggs are considered normal, and by 45, fertility has declined so much that getting pregnant naturally is ‘unlikely’ for most women. 

Not all egg retrievals turn up viable eggs, and the changes decline as a woman ages. Women’s fertility begins declining rapidly in their late 30s, and by 40, less than half of a woman’s eggs are considered normal.

Narine seems confident that a child will result from the NFT sale, and she didn’t make the decision to offer up her egg lightly.

She said she spent more than a year deciding whether or not it was the right thing to do.

She also responded to potential criticism that this is just a ‘performance’ for attention.  

‘Art is always perception. If people see this as a performance, then it is. However, my choice was not based on whether it was a performance but more about it being the biggest gift I can give with my art,’ she explained.

‘The egg will hopefully become a child and then it will be a child, not art. However I hope the child and its parents will always feel a special connection to my art and the NFT,’ she added to Fortune. 

Narine’s publicist, Jane Owen, added that that the ‘NFT market is so explosive’ that this piece could sell for ‘any amount.’ 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk