The art piece is a classical rejection letter from a highly ranked academic journal modified to the format of a review process via blockchain network. Ironically, the rejected research paper itself advocates for further use of the blockchain in the peer review process.
The artists are questioning the inherent problems of keeping the control of the peer review process in the hands of a small group of academic elites. Currently, 50 percent of all peer reviews are done by only 10 percent of the total possible academic reviewers. The artists are advocating for democratizing this review process by allowing anyone to provide their valuable feedback via the blockchain. To make this happen, the audience is invited to be part of the peer review by submitting their rejection or acceptance of the research on display via our integrated SMS/blockchain application.