Sarah Meyohas launched Bitchcoin in February 2015, before Ethereum existed. A preserved burgundy rose petal, identified by the handwritten number 1.215, backs this token.
Provenance
Ethereum token minted on 7 June 2021, backed by petal #01.215 from Cloud of Petals (performance filmed in 2016; exhibited in 2017). Bitchcoin was originally conceived in 2015.
The main image shows the petal backing Bitchcoin #01.215 on a sheet of paper, with its handwritten number at the lower right. In the associated animation, a gold coin turns above a reflective surface as petals fall around it. One face bears lips and the word BITCHCOIN; the reverse identifies the petal. The paper image and moving coin offer two views of the same artwork.
The original currency was backed by portions of her Speculations photographs, treating her art as the reserve supporting a circulating token. The Ethereum NFT release in 2021 changed that backing to preserved rose petals. This individual token dates to 2021; 2015 is the origin of the larger project.
The petals came from Cloud of Petals, filmed at the former Bell Labs in the summer of 2016 and exhibited at Red Bull Arts New York in 2017. Sixteen workers photographed 100,000 petals, selecting one from each rose that they considered most beautiful. The 3,291 selected petals were pressed and kept. Each records a human judgment that sits alongside the much larger dataset used to generate artificial flowers.
The two-part identifier connects a token to its worker and selected petal. Under the project’s redemption mechanism, a collector can exchange a Bitchcoin for its physical petal by burning the token. Digital circulation and physical custody are therefore distinct.