Who are you?
My name is Gabriel, but everybody calls me elbi, bile or biel. I’m 23 years old and I live in Curitiba-Brasil.
When did you start making art?
It probably started when I got involved with skateboarding when I was about 13 years old. I always liked being with the camera in my hand making videos of my friends. I think it ended up getting more serious when I started studying Graphic Design about 6 years ago. Then I ended up testing a lot of different things, but my focus was always on the video part.
Why did you join Hic et Nunc?
I started to see people on the internet talking about nfts, but, like everyone else ,I didn’t had the faith that it could work with me. One day @pixel_nachos came to talk with me about the platform and how easy it was to get started. He gave me my first xtz to start. At first I didn’t believed that it would work, but then he minted a video we made together and managed to sell a few editions. I think that’s when I really realized that crypto-art was something real.
What is your process for making a piece of art?
My process is very experimental. Sometimes I already have an idea of what equipment or effect to use, but most of the time I just turn on the TV, play random images to my mixers and mess around with it.
How do you feel about all the love Brasil is getting in the clean nft community?
To me it’s one of the things that make me believe in the power of Hic Et Nunc and crypto-art itself. Our currency is very undervalued, so 1 tez ends up multiplying 5 times our IRL money. Being able to see artists finally getting the return they deserve is very gratifying, and to me the hype is not only about money, it’s also about getting in touch with a lot of cool artists, consuming references and information from around the world. Some collectors are very aware of the power they have in their hands, not only to be “helping” us by buying our art, but to be investing in art they truly believe.
What emotion or feeling do you want your art to give the viewer?
First of all, the nostalgia factor. I think the aesthetic ends up varying according to my mood. If you go to my hic et nunc page you can see how in one week I mint a lot of melancholic themed work, then in the following week I’m minting more colorful things filled with tiny hearts. But apart from that, it’s all about nostalgia.
What adds value to your art?
The feeling of nostalgia and the Mystery involved within it. The analog video art scene is reaching the mainstream now, a lot of people still have no idea how the process works, I believe this instigates the curiosity from collectors.
Do you have any creations that are your favorite?
This is hard to answer hahahaha, I’ve already minted over 100 objkts on hic et nunc, so I think my favorites keep changing. But right now the one I was happiest with the result was “Genius of Love”.
What is your current life goal?
I think my biggest goal was already fulfilled when I stopped taking freelance jobs to focus 100% of my time on my own art. The new goal now is to be able to continue living like this.
Are there any artists you want to shout out?
There are so many that I don’t even know where to start. But I think first I need to thank @pixel_nachos, @xaoo777 and @cris_o_ for helping me so much in my first months on hic et nunc, and for being a great inspiration to me.
Besides them I would like to thank other artists who make art with analog video and are great inspirations to me, such as @maxcapacity @letsglitchit @SkyGoodman4 and @katecursed.
this interview was translated into English from Portuguese
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