Expenshit.

A MANIFESTO

Luxury, without the lie.

What the art market sells for millions, in private. What we sell for five dollars, in public.

THE EVIDENCE

Five real sales. All reported by the press. None of them a joke.

ARTNET NEWS · JUNE 2021Buyer Pays €15,000 for a Sculpture That Isn't ThereBuyer Pays €15,000 for a Sculpture That Isn't There Salvatore Garau, Io Sono. Sold in 2021. The buyer got a certificate. Nothing else.Salvatore Garau, Io Sono. Sold in 2021. The buyer got a certificate. Nothing else.LOT 01BLOOMBERG · JULY 2014Unmade Bed Sells for £2.5 Million, Dirty Sheets IncludedUnmade Bed Sells for £2.5 Million, Dirty Sheets Included Tracey Emin, My Bed. Sold at Christie's London in 2014 for £2,546,500.Tracey Emin, My Bed. Sold at Christie's London in 2014 for £2,546,500.LOT 02FIRSTONLINE · 2016€275,000 for a Tin of Artist's Poop. Contents Unconfirmed.€275,000 for a Tin of Artist's Poop. Contents Unconfirmed. Piero Manzoni, Merda d'Artista No. 69. Sold in 2016. What's inside has never been verified.Piero Manzoni, Merda d'Artista No. 69. Sold in 2016. What's inside has never been verified.LOT 03SOTHEBY'S · NOVEMBER 2024$6.2 Million Banana Taped to a Wall. The Buyer Ate It.$6.2 Million Banana Taped to a Wall. The Buyer Ate It. Maurizio Cattelan, Comedian. Sold at Sotheby's New York in 2024.Maurizio Cattelan, Comedian. Sold at Sotheby's New York in 2024.LOT 04WIKIPEDIA / ARTNET · 2013Mystery Buyer Pays $105 Million for One Red RectangleMystery Buyer Pays $105 Million for One Red Rectangle Barnett Newman, Anna's Light. Reportedly sold in a private sale in 2013.Barnett Newman, Anna's Light. Reportedly sold in a private sale in 2013.LOT 05

WHAT THEY WERE REALLY BUYING

This isn't a joke about art. Some of these works changed how we think, and that's their point.

It's about the people who pay for them. Nobody spends six million dollars on a banana because they're hungry. They're buying the sentence "I own that." The object is the receipt. The status is the product.

Luxury has always worked this way. The bag holds your keys. The watch tells the time. The logo tells everyone else. Some people wear ugly things just to prove they could afford them.

It's the oldest trick in the market, and nobody ever says it out loud.

WHAT WE SELL

We say it out loud.

We sell one thing: shit. Digital, numbered and identical for everyone.

You set the price. Pay $5 or pay $5,000, and you get the same shit. The only thing that changes is where your name sits on the Idiot Index.

No logo on your chest. No monogram on your bag. No tin to keep on a shelf. Just the part luxury never admits it's selling.

In 1961, an artist canned his own shit and called it art. Sixty years later, we're still paying for it. We just lowered the price and dropped the pretence.

SHIT — the digital object
SHIT / DIGITAL EDITION · FROM $5

OUR RULES

  1. 01Same shit. Any price.Nobody gets a better one.
  2. 02You know exactly what you're buying.Nothing. We put it in writing.
  3. 03No prizes. No investment. No resale value.It will never be worth more. It will never be worth anything.
  4. 04It's public.Your name, your amount, your rank. That's the whole point.
  5. 05Your rank is never safe.Someone can always pay more.

THE INVITATION

Collectors pay millions to own nothing in private.

You can do it for five dollars, in public.

Regrets? A few.

Right now someone is sitting where you could be. They probably have less money than you. They just moved first.

BUY SHIT. FROM $5See who's already there →

SOURCES

  1. Salvatore Garau, Io Sono (2021) — Artnet News · Newsweek
  2. Tracey Emin, My Bed (2014) — Bloomberg · ITV News
  3. Piero Manzoni, Merda d'Artista No. 69 (2016) — FIRSTonline · Wikipedia
  4. Maurizio Cattelan, Comedian (2024) — Sotheby's press release · The Art Newspaper
  5. Barnett Newman, Anna's Light (2013 private sale, reported) — Wikipedia · Artnet

Expenshit is not affiliated with any of the artists, auction houses or publications mentioned. Artworks and images belong to their respective owners.

EXPENSHIT. LUXURY, WITHOUT THE LIE.