Björn Borg - “No Time to Think”

The Wimbledon Final on July 5th, 1980 between Björn Borg and John McEnroe is regarded as one of the most iconic sports events in history. In this NFT titled “No Time to Think”, Björn Borg has captured his emotional experience in the moment he won his historic fifth consecutive title.

An exclusive video interview was conducted with Björn Borg to understand how he felt throughout the event. This video served as inspiration to digital artist duo Ximena, who were commissioned to create an audiovisual piece expressing Björn’s emotional experience and a statue depicting his final moment of “Serenity”. The artistic work has been curated by Marisa Bellani, art prodigy and youngest member ever of the TATE Acquisition Board.

To understand the external view and impact of the moment, a historical description has also been produced by tennis expert Björn Hellberg who was present at the event.

The interview, artwork and historical description can be viewed separately or as a whole in a virtual room, together with the contract where Björn Borg personally validates his personal experience and authenticates the NFT.

All parts combine to form a one-of-a-kind, single edition Emotional NFT minted on the Ethereum Blockchain.

As described by the Tennis Hall of Fame, Björn Borg was a rock ‘n roll star draped in tennis clothes. His stoic, mysterious persona. The long flowing hair. And the headband, an accessory so iconic that it alone could render him in millions of vivid memories across the globe.

At the time of this moment the world was at the height of what had been dubbed “Borgmania.” Then came the Wimbledon Final in 1980 often cited as the best ever played. In exceptionally dramatic fashion, Borg defeated John McEnroe in five sets after three hours and 53 minutes.

Björn holds any number of accolades and records. His two-handed backhand changed the sport. But when he dropped to his knees after the final shot of this match he was bigger than his sport. He was a cultural icon. That is why we have selected the emotions of this moment to stand as a singular monument in our shared digital world.

“Ximena” is formed by Diana Azzuz and Rina Priduvalova. With young roots in a Ukraine colored by political and social turmoil, “Ximena” reflects critically on digital reality, social responsibility and the dystopian quality of the ever-changing environment.

Their first collaborative work “Hyperreal” was released in December 2019 followed by an hour-long audiovisual set presented on different platforms.

The latest work is an audiovisual album “Sui Noxa” released on “Standard Deviation”, an offspring of “Kyrylivska Club” in Kyiv. This work has also a physical extension in the form of an installation that was exhibited at “Glass Tower”.

7Moments is an NFT collection by Forza Ikonia that strives to evoke and capture emotions from compelling moments. We find interesting moments and let talented artists manifest the emotions in artwork that enshrines them into the Metaverse. Every moment represents a specific emotion and every emotion is represented in a series of seven NFTs. The pieces can also be seen as heptaptychs with seven parts that reinforce each other.

Throughout history, moments have been memorialized in the physical world through paintings, sculptures and music. We want to create emotional monuments in our digital worlds. In the metaverse, these important moments can be forever preserved. Never destroyed by decay, fire or malice. Enjoyed by rich or poor, young and old. Reached from anywhere, at any time.

We believe art and emotions will only grow more important in the metaverse to feel the connection to our common history, heritage and humanity.