Hivemind Digital Culture Fund acquires monumental Human Unreadable X-ray Machine by Operator

Hivemind Digital Culture Fund acquires monumental Human Unreadable X-ray Machine by Operator
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Date
July 9, 2025
Category
Press Releases

Hivemind Digital Culture Fund announces the acquisition of X-ray Machine - Human Unreadable #124, a unique, 1/1 half-ton steel and tempered glass sculpture by the artist duo Operator (Ania Catherine and Dejha Ti). The sculpture is the artists’ boldest physical manifestation of a work from their seminal Human Unreadable collection, which explores the tension between privacy and transparency inherent in blockchain technology. Rising more than two metres, it is the sole large-scale X-ray Machine Operator will create other than an artist proof to be retained by the artists. 

Encapsulating ACT I & ACT II in a single sculpture

The piece physically unites the two first core layers of the generative art collection, Human Unreadable ACT I (primary token) and ACT II (choreographic score) as a sculpture, so they can be displayed without screens and never separated. Light, glass and code fuse here, turning a blockchain-native performance into a room-scale object that breathes with physicality.

Why Human Unreadable #124 stands apart

Human Unreadable, a long form on-chain generative art collection and winner of a 2023 Lumen Prize, comprises 400 on-chain choreographic NFTs. #124 is one of only 13 NFTs to carry the “Vulnerable” trait, the rarest in the series, and is the base for the sculpture visual. Minted and retained by Operator from day one, it has never left their wallet until this ownership transfer.

The sculpture

Fifteen engraved, UV-printed, smoked and mirrored tempered glass sheets float inside a stainless-steel frame with copper accents. Custom electronics translate #124’s choreography into shifting fields of light, so movement is felt as an ambient glow, a cinematic choreography of depth, rather than seen on a screen.

  • Size: 200.07 × 137.28 × 66.3 cm (78.8 × 54 × 26.1 in)
  • Weight: approx. 525 kg (1157 lb)
  • Materials: tempered glass, stainless steel, copper, LED system, micro-computer control

Two standard-size X-ray Machines currently exist (one in the Arab Bank Switzerland Collection from 2024, one currently on view/offered by Fellowship London from 2025), and one in production to go into the permanent collection of a major museum in London (official acquisition announcement fall 2025). A few more standard editions will be made available in the coming years to collectors and institutions. The large scale X-ray Machine acquired by the Hivemind Digital Culture Fund will remain unmatched in scale and presence as the most ambitious physical manifestation of a Human Unreadable to date. 

Artist statement

“We developed the X-ray Machine to experience Human Unreadable without screens, translating choreography into a dynamic, breathing, ghostly, yet elegant object. Viewable from every angle, it produces hundreds of images, revealing what lies beneath the surface and quietly pointing back to the score that gave it life. Seeing this sculpture collected by the Hivemind Digital Culture Fund is wonderful because we share the vision of amplifying digital art and culture. The partnership gives this work, which started as a dream in our minds, a platform to reach new scales and audiences and expand the public’s imaginary of what they think digital art can be."

— Operator

Museum debut

The sculpture will anchor a gallery devoted to Human Unreadable at the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, from 10 July to 30 November 2025.

Operator and Hivemind look forward to sharing this fusion of choreography, light and blockchain art with the public, showing how digital provenance can deepen the experience of contemporary sculpture.

Hivemind Digital Culture Fund

The Hivemind Digital Culture Fund is committed to identifying, collecting, and stewarding culturally significant artworks by artists at the forefront of the digital art movement. The Fund’s mission is to build lasting cultural value by supporting creators, fostering relationships with institutions, and encouraging broader public engagement with emerging forms of art.

Guided by a curatorial vision that considers historical relevance, technical innovation, and cultural impact, the Fund seeks out artworks that both define and challenge the boundaries of their medium. The result is a unique collection that documents the evolution of the digital art renaissance.

The Hivemind Digital Culture Fund is also pleased to announce the acquisition of a complete set of Human Unreadable NFTs, representing the six Emotional Climate traits. 

"As collectors, we’re drawn to works that push the boundaries of how digital art can be experienced and preserved on the blockchain. X-ray Machine – Human Unreadable #124 takes a conceptual generative performance and translates it into a sculpture powered by light and movement, creating a new form of collectible on-chain media. As the first physical sculpture in the Hivemind Digital Culture Fund, it brings a new dimension to the collection and shows our commitment to building something lasting and truly irreplaceable.”

– Matt Zhang, Founder and Managing Partner, Hivemind Capital

Hivemind Support of Operator’s Practice

Hivemind Digital Group also recently announced Lightyear, a dedicated platform designed to provide liquidity, distribution, and infrastructure for digital art. Together, the Fund and Lightyear are working to elevate digital art from a speculative asset class into an established pillar of contemporary culture.

Lightyear will support Operator’s artistic practice in a variety of ways, including through media and marketing initiatives, and dedicated liquidity for key collections.

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Links & Resources:

Biography, portrait and links: https://lalcryptoart.notion.site/Operator-Official-Information-3db4e115aaf048deb6ad80f6155c357e 

Sotheby’s video about Operator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XaV9Bi209Q

Interview with Hans Ulrich Obricht: https://vimeo.com/910809144?share=copy

Human Unreadable page: https://www.operator.la/human-unreadable

Overview video of Human Unreadable: https://vimeo.com/877862325?share=copy

Sales Data on Human Unreadable:

  • Launched as an Artblocks curated project with 400 works sold under 30 minutes on May 24, 2023 (bear market)
  • Awards: Savvy Awards, HOFA x Phillips Digital Art Prize, Lumen Prize
  • 1105ETH total sales achieved with 350ETH primary sales in addition to 755+ETH in secondary sales.
  • 2% (8 out of 400 works) are available for secondary acquisition.