Proof of Work Bitmap, 2019, Ethereum DApp

Proof of Work Bitmap displays a 16x16 pixel monochrome bitmap that lives on the Ethereum blockchain. To edit it you must run code similar to that used by cryptocurrency “mining” and submit the results to the blockchain to prove your good faith.

In computer art and digital culture a monochrome bitmap is the simplest representation of a discrete image. In blockchain-based systems a “proof of work” is a time-consuming computational puzzle that is impossible to cheat on but simple to check the result of. The result of solving that puzzle in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Proof of Work Bitmap, is a 256-bit number with a specific number of zeros at the end. This is the same size as a 16x16 bitmap and as a memory cell in Ethereum. There’s a resonance here, as there is in each piece in the series.