Here’s The Legal Contract For Grimes’ Selling Of Her Soul

Grimes is selling her soul as part of an online art exhibition called Selling Out. In the show’s titular work, the highest bidder will receive a legal document conveying ownership of a percentage of Grimes’ soul. “I really wanted to collaborate with my lawyer on art,” Grimes said in an interview. “The idea of fantastical art in the form of legal documents just seems very intriguing to me.”

Selling Out officially opened yesterday on the Maccarone, Los Angeles gallery’s website. “Selling Out​ is executed as a contract in which Grimes sells a fraction of her soul, formalizing the idea that every time an artist sells a piece of their art, part of the soul is sold with it,” the piece’s description reads. “The purchaser will enter into a contractual agreement that outlines the terms of ownership and ultimately the connection to the joy of artistic expression.”

The site also includes a three-page term sheet summarizing the principal terms of the proposed sale. This is how it defines Grimes’ soul:

Soul: The “Soul” of Grimes:

(i) consists of the spiritual, immaterial and immortal essence Grimes, which exists independently of and distinctly from her physical being. but is the essence of life itself;

(ii) is mutable in time but immutable in space, containing eternal truth and wisdom;

(iii) is imbued with the knowledge of the good and with honor; and

(iv) contains perceptive, rational and contemplative powers that enable it to be close to the source of all things in the Universe.

This is what you get if you purchase her soul:

Dividends: The holders of the Soul Shares shall be entitled to share in the joy and happiness created by Grimes’ Soul, as and when such joy and happiness is created from time to time. Such joy and happiness may include flashes of brilliant white light and an ethereal feeling.

Even if Grimes dies, you get to keep your shares of her soul:

Liquidation/Dissolution: In the event of any liquidation or dissolution of Grimes, holder of Soul Shares shall be entitled to remain connected to the Soul wherever it comes to reside. A liquidation or dissolution of Grimes shall be deemed to include her physical being no longer being among us.

But you do have to be a good person or you’re out of luck:

Goodness Covenant; Reversion Right: Each Investor recognizes that in owning Soul Shares they are holding a piece of Grimes’ Soul, that such ownership is a unique responsibility requiring them to accept the obligation to be a kind, good and ethical person, and that such Investor’s actions to the contrary may have a material adverse effect on Grimes’ Soul.

Accordingly, as a continuing and absolute condition of ownership of the Soul Share, each Investor is bound to live a kind, good and ethical life, and must treat others with humanity and compassion (the “Goodness Covenant”). In the event of a material breach of the Goodness Covenant by an Investor, which includes without limitation the commission of a crime or any action (or inaction) that could be reasonably expected to be detrimental to all or any portion of Grimes’ Soul, ownership of the Soul Shares held by such Investor shall immediately and automatically revert to Grimes.

The document ends with the following disclaimer:

The validity of this Offering, and of the Soul Shares, is subject to the review and approval of a higher authority. Investors are cautioned that there will be no material or tangible benefit obtained from a purchase of Soul Shares, and that here can be no assurance that a purchase of Soul Shares will provide any spiritual, moral or other benefit. Investors considering a purchase of Soul Shares are advised to seek guidance from advisors, philosophers or counsellors of their chance.

Inquire here to make an offer.