Italian artist sells ‘invisible’ sculpture for more than £12,000

The sculpture doesn’t physically exist, artist claims, ‘it’s in the mind of the creator’

Salvatore Garau auctions an invisible structure (Salvatore Garau/ YouTube)

An Italian artist reportedly sold an “invisible” sculpture for $18,000 (£12,959) at an auction that took place earlier this month.

According to Italy24News, Salvatore Garau’s sculpture “Io sono” (Italian for “I am”) must be displayed in a private room away from any obstruction.

It also needs to be kept in an area that is about 5 ft long and 5 ft wide. Lighting and environment control are optional due to the fact that no one can see the work.

Garau has attracted criticism over his claim that the sculpture is “immaterial”, meaning it either doesn’t exist or exists only in the mind of its creator.

However, the 67-year-old has defended himself by claiming the sculpture is more like a “vacuum”.

“The vacuum is nothing more than a space full of energy, and even if we empty it and there is nothing left, according to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, that ‘nothing’ has a weight. Therefore, it has energy that is condensed and transformed into particles, that is, into us,” he said.

“After all, don’t we give shape to a God we have never seen?” he asked.

Last week, Garau displayed another invisible sculpture titled “Buddha in Contemplation” in the Piazza della Scala in Milan.

The video states: “Now it exists and will remain in this space forever. You do not see it but it exists. It is made of air and spirit.”