Pop-Up Shop Offers Exclusive Art From Prolific Street Artist Ben Eine

Ben Eine Artlyst

Two-Day Pop-Up Shop Where Every Purchase Is Completed With a Twist, Offers Exclusive Art From Prolific Street Artist Ben Eine. Cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab encourages shoppers to consider the value of their personal data when purchasing artwork without the need of their wallets

Renowned street artist Ben Eine has created limited edition artwork in his famous lettering style for sale in a pop up store by cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab at a two-day pop-up shop. Located in Old Street station, East London, keen fans will be able to purchase his exclusive screenprints and merchandise at the Data Dollar Store created by cybersecurity giant Kaspersky Lab.

Opening its doors on Wednesday 6th September, the Data Dollar Store will be the only place for art fans to purchase this exclusive work from Eine, whose art has developed a reputation for selling out prior to the general opening of his exhibitions. With his work in such high demand, the Data Dollar Store will give fans the chance to purchase a piece of his work– but with a twist.

Created by Kaspersky Lab, the pop-up shop encourages shoppers to be mindful of the value of their digital data. To bring this to life, shoppers will be presented with a totally new way of transaction – the Data Dollar Store will be the first ever retail store to use data* as currency in exchange for goods.

Playing on the parallel between the intangibility of artwork and data, the use of the latter as the only accepted currency will aim to make shoppers think about the value of the data held on their devices. Whilst art is worth whatever the buyer is willing to pay for it, the Data Dollar Store will ask shoppers what they are willing to part with without ever opening their own wallets.

Ben Eine said: “Art and data have similar parallels – both have value but at what cost? By selling my exclusive artwork that money cannot buy, but instead is exchanged for data, Kaspersky Lab opens a new way of thinking about the meaning of data and its value. Shoreditch has significance to me as it is where I have drawn much of my inspiration. It is also the home to Silicon Roundabout, the heart of the UK tech scene and the digital revolution, a fitting location for the Data Dollar Store. It brings these two worlds together and turns the simple transaction as we know it, on its head.”

David Emm, Principal Security Researcher, at Kaspersky Lab said: “We live in a digital-first society and share huge amounts of data every day, without even realising it. Data, like art, is valuable, but that value is intangible until someone asks you what it is worth or takes it away. According to a global survey, while 29% of people worldwide have become victim of a cyberattack, 39% leave their devices unprotected from attacks.

By launching The Data Dollar Store and working with Ben Eine, we can bring the two worlds closer – selling exclusive art but at a cost that will provoke thought. Data dollars as a new currency gives personal data a tangible value and we want to remind modern consumers how important that is and why they should protect it.”

Kaspersky Lab is a global cybersecurity company celebrating its 20 year anniversary in 2017. Kaspersky Lab’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection and a number of specialized security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. Over 400 million users are protected by Kaspersky Lab technologies and we help 270,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.

Born in London, Ben Eine is one of the most successful street artists in the world and is regarded as a pioneer in the exploration of graffiti letterforms. Originally, a writer, Eine started his career over 25 years ago, leaving his first tag all over London before developing his distinct typographic style. Eine’s aim was to point out that street art is distinct from graffiti. He believed “street artists want to add something to the environment. They consider the audience, whereas graffiti writers don’t care about anyone except themselves, they do it purely for the kick”. Eine’s bright and colourful letters were created to stand out from the usual tags and dubs seen on the streets and can still be found in areas of East London. These letters appear on shop shutters and often spell whole words across walls. Eine first came to prominence in the “commercial” graffiti scene through his symbiotic partnership with London graffiti artist Banksy. In 2010 the UK Prime Minister David Cameron gifted his artwork to President Obama, while a particular area of the East End was named ‘Alphabet City’ after his colourful array of shopfront ‘shutter art’. Currently Ben Eine’s work is held in the permanent collections of the V&A, London, The Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles and galleries worldwide, while his street art works can be seen all over the world, most recently he completed a huge mural on the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

The Data Dollar Store will be open in Old Street station on 6th and 7th September from 8.30am-7pm. To find out more about The Data Dollar store visit www.thedatadollarstore.com

Photo: P C Robinson © Artlyst 2017

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