A unique technology is providing artists with a new level of protection for their work.
“I think it’s really important because up until now there has not really been a really counterfeit proof, reliable way to really authenticate your art to this level ever before,” said artist Fabrice Goosens.
Halifax-based companies DNA Technologies and HFX Canvas Prints have partnered to provide a method to authenticate paintings, prints and photographs by stamping the work with unique DNA codes.
“It’s applied after the print is done, on the back side and on the certificate of authenticity,” said Brandon Baker, the owner of HFX Canvas Prints.
That stamp allows the piece to be tracked through an online platform.
“In this particular case is synthetic DNA,” said Hayes, the managing director of DNA Technologies.
“It’s DNA produced on the computer, in a lab so we can make lots of it and make lots of it inexpensively and control the codes that are hidden within,” he added.
The technology is already being applied to art from Saltwreck, a Yarmouth company that creates unique maps for customers.
Fabrice the Artist will be the first individual artists to incorporate the process into his art pieces.
“In today’s world with counterfeits and all that, I think it’s never been more important to have such an authentic counterfeit proof form of your art,” Goosens said.
“The way we make our DNA, not only do you have to know what you’re looking for you also have to know where to find it. I used to say it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack and someone said, actually it’s like looking for some straw in a haystack,” said Hayes.
The DNA stamp also provides assurance to anyone buying an art piece that the work is an original, thereby potentially increasing its value.
