Tempus Fugit, Latin for time flies, is a testament to the fleeting nature of existence. At the core of this work is the portrayal of my grandmother's old clock, said to have stopped at the moment of my grandfather's passing three decades ago. The work unfolds a narrative of life and death.  On the periphery, my own profile faces a representation of death, proffering a thorned rose. Each element – the clock, my likeness, the figure of death – intertwines into a cohesive exploration of time's relentless progression.

The central clock integrates generative elements birthed from AI software, a technological offspring of my studio's endeavors. It's as if an AI black hole is drawing in fragments of my childhood, my earlier works, and interactions from supportive viewers. On the left, the death figure borrows inspiration from The Seventh Seal, a movie by Ingmar Bergman. This piece is an evolved echo of an early physical work of mine, a chess match between life and death, with each square of the chessboard symbolizing a moment in my life.

Embedded in the artwork are fragments of my poetry, the invisible stitches holding together the fabric of my pieces. These are deeply autobiographical and resonate with Carmelo Bene's thought: you can't create art with art - art is the medium to express the self. Pushing the boundaries of the conventional, the artwork dissolves into a new form – a metaverse statue, compatible with Somnium Space. Envision a 3D VR avatar that morphs from a pattern-engraved greystone statue to a living work of art, embodying the original artwork's essence. The collector of this piece will experience the fusion of 2D artwork and 3D metaverse avatar. It's a testament to the belief that art makes sense only when we transcend it. We, in our authentic selves, are the truest form of art.

This artwork and the avatar are reflections of the struggle to remain true to oneself in testing times. In this age of technology, I believe that art should serve as a beacon, guiding us to assert our identities, not by our professions, but by our essence. Prior to this auction, Tempus Fugit was exhibited at Times Square in New York, displayed on three monumental billboards: NASDAQ, One Times Square and Midtown Financial.