Xer0x: The anon artist who took the space by storm.
If you’re not familiar with Transient Artist Spotlights, they are our weekly interviews with artists from all around the NFT space! Ranging from all sorts of mediums, platforms, styles, etc… we try to learn as much as we can about the artist and their journey! Thank you to Xer0x for taking the time to do this interview!
Who is Xer0x?
I’ve chosen to stay anonymous because my real life and circumstances don’t allow me to express myself freely. Some people stay anonymous to live out some fantasy, ironically — I stay anonymous to be more like myself.
What was your first NFT minted?
I minted my first NFT in late 2020 and maybe had 5 or so pieces I minted before minting under Xer0x. I began with Signal Vs. Noise as a kind of minimalistic troll — the title suggests something deep and meaningful while the aesthetic makes you think you’re about to have a seizure. A lot of what I do involves that kind of satirical duality. Fine art ideas with low-brow packaging. (https://objkt.com/asset/hicetnunc/213930)? Aug 18, 2021.
How did you learn about NFTs and what made you get involved?
I used to crash Twitter Spaces on my way to work and in 2020 I joined a space with a bunch of cartoon character people. I thought the whole thing was hilarious and it seemed like a worthwhile waste of time. Everyone was excited while the actual world was on fire..bragging about how they owned Apes worth $5k or somethin. I thought they were all batshit crazy– still do tbh. My memory gets foggy after that — I have a kind of selective amnesia when it comes to missed opportunities.
Your works seem to all have the same glitch style, are there any themes that are present across all your works? What are they and why?
There was a time when you’d get into shit if you called anything that wasn’t the outcome of hardware or software errors “Glitch”. Glitch was basically the result of a technical error and nearly no one thought of it as its own artistic medium. At some point experimental artists like Rosa Menkman or Jamie Fenton began highlighting the artistic qualities of Glitch and recognizing it as its own medium. I’m mentioning all of this because I can’t really talk about this new genre that everyone is calling Glitch without referring to….well Glitch. It’s like if people started making some new type of sandwich and decided to name it Pizza. That being said, a lot of the aesthetic sauce of this genre does actually involve controlling and emulating true glitch ideas. Things like distortion, FM modulation, phosphorescent colors, data moshing & pixel sorting — you can find almost all of these ideas in this genre and some of them in my own work as well. But most of the new glitch artists also illustrate or paint almost all of the content of their works frame-by-frame, so there are big differences. At some point soon, I think people will wake up and fully see what most of us see very clearly: This new genre is as crypto-centric as it gets and should have its own name.
You got onto SuperRare late last year and sold your genesis “Clockwork Metropolis” for 8.69eth. Was that your highest primary sale? How did it feel? Can you talk about the work itself?
I had a 1/ 3 that sold on Tezos I believe around the same time that I believe was my highest sale. Sales are a tricky subject to talk about. My first work on tezos sold for 1 tez. I made countless free pieces before I realized any real money but i’ve always known that sales in this space mean next to nothing. An artist’s sales tell you absolutely nothing about the true value of their work or whether or not collectors have any connection to it — especially in the short run. Artists end up trapped in a kind of golden cage — where they cant really collab with other artists they love or have to price their work to a point where they alienate all their true fans. So as far as I’m concerned, what my genesis sold for says absolutely nothing about Clockwork Metropolis, but I sure as shit wish it sold for 100Eth. Clockwork Metropolis was meant as a kind of unforgeable piece of art made by an art forger. I make use of painting, 1-bit pixel art, retro hue cycle techniques, and both traditional and new glitch techniques.
What are some of the biggest challenges for you as an artist in this space?
The problem with NFTs, or maybe now with all forms of digital art — is social media. Twitter owns our audience and to some extent, owns our online identities. Our ability to expose our work to people that appreciate it is limited by a goddamn algorithm. The algorithm likes pictures. The algorithm likes open-ended questions and abbreviations like GM. This is why I believe marketplaces need to take a much more active role in curation and in highlighting different artists. We need micro-communities to continue thriving — we need places where artists feel supported, where they feel like they belong. The grass roots need to be fed and nurtured and I think any artist or collector that does this will ultimately be very successful in this space.
You have a very fun and playful personality online, does that carry over from IRL or did being Xer0x give you an ability to develop an alter-ego?
Staying anon helps me express myself without needed to filter everything. In the real world, I dont think I cant say shit, fuck, asshole…none of that.
What is your favorite piece that you made? Why? (add an image)
Aesthetically, Phantasmagoria is probably my favorite. I think it’s one strong example of how far we can bend this genre. The subject is extremely serious — its about abu ghraib. But there is nothing about the piece that is diminishing or cartoonish — the seriousness of the subject can be felt. . I spent countless hours on the piece and I think people that know the process can see this and perhaps know that I care deeply about what I’ve created, that the piece isn't just some trinket — that it’s real.
check it out here: https://objkt.com/asset/hicetnunc/747849
What is your favorite piece made by another artist? Who is the artist? Why?
I don’t really think there is one specific piece that I would weigh above others. If I were to just pick a piece today that I think is beautiful I’d maybe stick my hand in a bag and pick from Nicolas Sassoon, Feels, Strano, Al Crego, 0x3y3, Jenni Pasanen, Brolket, Uczine…. I mean it’s a long list.
What is your favorite food?
Sandwiches…….. Alonerone, Spogelsameken,cybermistic, Somfay, Sean Luke, Poppel, Yazid
Your work started on Tezos (Objkt) and now you have work on ETH (SuperRare), what are your thoughts on cross chain artists and collectors?
Eth was absolutely unbearable for most artists for the better part of 2020–21. I don’t think Tezos artists have graduated to Eth or anything. Eth finally detoxed itself somewhat away from the PfP craze and gas prices subsided significantly after the merge. The reality is, $500 gas and an endless feed of lost animals from Noah’s arch weren’t exactly attractive to people who were trying to experiment. Though now I think most non-generative artists are at a kind of crossroads. I think the future of Tezos art culture has a lot more to do with the value of Tezos as a currency than it does the culture of Tezos — Tezos is and has always been the more arts-focused chain. Hopefully over time that reputation will be maintained and enhanced.
Now that 2022 came to a close, can you shed any light on what you have planned for 2023?
I plan on making works that inspire other artists to experiment on-chain. A lot of the ideas I put forth in 2022 were emulated by others, and I get a really big kick out of that. But I might just do a few this years that can’t even be duplicated.
Do you have anything else you would like to plug?
I’ve already done a piece called “Shameless Plug”, I try not to repeat things haha
Xer0x’s Linktree: https://linktr.ee/xer0x
We also want to call on the audience to look at this twwet and the article attached to it. Xer0x is doing something beautiful by creating a piece in his honor! https://twitter.com/AOTMgallery/status/1613008346377748480?s=20&t=EAsBp3x8uuK-BtciF5-d_A
This was a really special interview, and I have personally really enjoyed your in-depth answers to the questions! Thank you once again for taking the time and it was a pleasure! We hope everyone reading has enjoyed this piece, if you have and are a fan of our artist spotlights please feel free to share with your friends! We are also always open to feedback in our Twitter dms @ transientlabs!
