A digital artwork by Refik Anadol (Istanbul, 1985) that captures the emotional essence of Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi ’s (Rosario, 1987) most significant goal was sold at auction by Christie’ s for $1.87 million (just under 1.6 million euros) as part of the A Goal in Life initiative: Leo Messi x Refik An adol (“A Goal in Life: Leo Messi x Refik Anadol”), which put Anadol’s work up for auction to raise resources to donate to various nonprofit organizations, including the global partnership between Inter Miami CF Foundation and UNICEF, which supports access to quality education programs in five countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The artwork, titled A Goal in Life, was created by world-renowned multimedia artist Refik Anadol in close collaboration with world soccer icon Leo Messi, and reinterprets Messi’s legendary header in the 2009 UEFA Champions League match on May 27, 2009 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome: Messi’s Barcelona won the tournament by beating Manchester United in the final with a score of 2-0. The Catalans’ second goal was sealed by Messi and is the one that entered the play: for the player, it was the favorite goal of his decades-long career. Anadol used state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, turning the memory into an immersive digital sculpture.
Anadol relied on a dataset to create a fully immersive experience: they physically mapped seventeen points on Messi’s body to reconstruct his shape and kinetic expression, then integrated biometric data such as voice, breath, and heartbeat to create a soundscape. The result is an eight-minute “temple of memory” that aims to create a visceral connection between the viewer and Messi, a collective recollection of his memory of the historic header.
The work debuted in a 10-day public exhibition at New York’s Rockefeller Center in conjunction with Christie’s 10th Art+Tech Summit , where thousands of fans, collectors, and art enthusiasts were able to admire it in person, immersing themselves in Messi’s memory on a journey that can unite sports, art, and technology. This initiative also aimed to demonstrate how sports and art can go beyond inspiration and achieve a measurable global good.
Living Memory: Messi - A Goal in Life is a collaborative project made possible through the joint efforts of Leo Messi, Refik Anadol, Inter Miami Foundation and Ximena Caminos, Cultural Placemaker and curator of the project.
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| Art and soccer: work recreating Messi's favorite goal sold for $1.87 million |
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