Slowing down with... Mumu / MOON HMZ

Time keeps insisting in pushing forward, the Earth is still on its orbit, same axis tilt, the Sun maintains its activity, and apparently universal Physics laws remain the same as in the previous days/weeks, therefore we keep all going into Summer/Winter mode given the time of the year it is. A perfect companion for this passage of time is, obviously, a good read, such as artists' explorations, views and works. So here's another instalment in this series of artists interviews: Mumu / MOON HMZ (Hic et Nunc, her page at Objkt.bid in case you'd be interested in collecting something while Hic Et Nunc is paused). Poet, visual artist, songwriter, with activity both over the digital art scene and physical world (remember that thing, anyone?). No more nonsense from me, thanks Mumu for the interview!

Q: What is your background?

A: I actually studied architecture, though I didn't work as an architect for long. I've always been an artist ever since I was a little kid, and I dreamed of being an artist, a writer, a teacher, a filmmaker, and an architect. It's interesting because I've actually gotten to be all of those throughout my life. I had a brief stint as a substitute kindergarten teacher before I went to university, and after graduation, I worked as an architect for a year, then I left architecture and became a children's illustrator and magazine editor for about 4 years, and finally, my previous job which I just left after almost 4 years, I was a Creative Team Lead and I produced videos. I haven't become a 'master' of any particular discipline, but I can't see myself holding myself back from any creative expression just because I'm not an expert in it. Some may look at my career and think I hop here and there because I'm indecisive, but really, it's because I don't care what the job title is as long as I get to use my creative skills with purpose.

I was always drawing and writing as a kid, making up my own stories and books. When I was a teenager, I didn't have many friends, so I spent a lot of time holed up in my room just drawing and writing, whilst listening to music when I could get my hands on them. I think that time in my life really shaped my creative voice because of how much time I spent with my thoughts and putting it all into my art.

Q: Which are your artistic influences?

A: I would say my artistic influences can come from all over the place, from music to books to movies to things I see randomly on the street. My work as MOON HMZ is very personal and they are sort of like the visual equivalent of my poems. However, if you want to talk about specifically my pixel art, I started it really influenced by Nyan cat. I love the chunky pixels. I started doing pixel art a year or so ago purely for fun, and it's been great.

Q: What has the art NFT movement meant to you? Has it changed your art practice? Does it enable you to do something that you couldn't do before?

A: NFTs have enabled me to connect with so many people around the globe. I've also been able to quit my job and focus on my art practice, as well as raise funds for various causes I feel strongly about. The ability to do whatever I want, creatively, is so liberating. Before this, I haven't made much money from my own personal art. I've tried being a freelancer before and I was just so depressed at the time, and commissions gave me a lot of anxiety.

Q: Would you like to highlight any of your works? Any story you'd like to tell around any piece?

A: here's a video which tells how I first got into NFTs:

Other works I'd like to highlight: Duality, Life and Death, the first NFT I ever sold on hic et nunc. This piece started with one pixel and I had no idea what I was doing or how it would turn out. This is still one of my favourite pieces I ever made.

One of the collabs I did with my son:

One of my works as MOON HMZ:

Q: Which NFT platforms are you using? Both as an artist and as a collector or passerby.

A: I started on Zora, but after learning about the environmental impact of Ethereum, I joined the CleanNFT discord to research alternatives. I was actually planning to try out a bunch of different PoS platforms, but I got hooked on Hic et Nunc because of how awesome the community is. I've also collected a piece on Kalamint, though I'm not so active there.

Q: What would you like to see in the platforms you use in the future? Would you be interested in having some kind of support towards, e.g., promotion, artists discovery, the possibility of working with curators, functionalities to make collaboration and debate easier? Etc.

A: I'd love the split royalty/collab feature. I think that's going to be a serious advantage of smart contracts over traditional means of splitting because it's all automatically done, it's transparent, and it takes care of secondary sales royalties too. Having split royalties could also be a game-changer in fundraising for charities. Imagine, as an artist, pledging to donate 15% to a particular charity, and having the smart contract be able to take care of it, sending the donations automatically to the charity wallet for each sale. Donors will also be able to track their donations as everything is written on the blockchain. This is something I am looking forward to the most.

Q: Any thoughts regarding the underlying decentralized nature of Hic Et Nunc and other NFT marketplaces? How does it impact local communities?

A: Not having a barrier for entry is great. There is a lot the world has to offer, why limit it to only what a select few determine as worthwhile? We've had enough of corporations and first-world media telling us what is worthwhile. We've had enough of our content being held hostage and our attention being bought and sold. I think it's important for the community to continue to fight for the decentralization and flat hierarchy of hic et nunc.

Q: Any other artist whose work you'd like to recommend? (as many as you like)

A: @annaxmalina, @thisisarobot2, @eventualghost, @bjorncalleja, @dielamaharanie, @tuanmulo, @leithba, @sonicchimes, @thebadlament

Q: Any artist who you'd like to see in this series of interviews?

A: Same as above.

Thanks Mumu!