Zoë Roth has sold her original ‘Disaster Girl’ photograph as a Non-fungible token (NFT) for a staggering $500,000. The NFT was sold at a Foundation auction for 180 Ethereum – a crypto currency that often fluctuates in value and is currently valued at $519,845.
The NFT was purchased by a Dubai-based recording studio @3FMusic on April 17. 3F Music has previously purchased expensive NFTs which include: the ‘Overly Attached Girlfriend’ NFT and the The New York Times’ NFT column for $411,000 and $560,000 respectively.
In a statement to the New York Times, 3F Music revealed that it aims to support artists through their purchases:
“Our management team is always in cooperation with some highly knowledgeable and experienced art advisers who believe that we must grow with technological movements that help us to not only promote our business but also to support artists and the art market”.
The photograph of the then 4-year-old Roth was taken by her father David Roth in 2008, after a house was burned down in North Carolina, United States. The picture depicted Roth with an evil grin as the house burns down behind her. Her father later won a photography contest by sharing the photo which became a viral meme across the world and was termed as the ‘Disaster Girl’.
Roth shared her appreciation of meme creators and how memes help viewers through difficult times:
“I love seeing them because I’d never make any of them myself, but I love seeing how creative people are. Once it’s out there, it’s out there and there’s nothing you can do about it. It always finds a way to stay relevant with whatever new kind of awful, terrible bad thing is happening, so I’ve laughed at a lot of them”.
The sale proceeds will be going towards Roth’s student loan and charity donations.