The creative journey of the "mother" of Bored Ape, a 27-year-old Asian American artist

Original Title: 《The NFT Art World Wouldn’t Be the Same Without This Woman’s 'Wide-Awake Hallucinations》
Original Author: SAMANTHA HISSONG
Original Translation: 深链 Deepchain

The "Bored Ape Yacht Club" is undoubtedly one of the brightest new stars in the crypto world today, but the vast majority of people may have never heard of its creator—27-year-old Asian American artist Seneca.

Of course, Seneca herself never imagined that this collection would drive a technological revolution.

Today, the "Bored Ape Yacht Club" is certainly one of the largest NFT projects in the world. Since its debut last May, it quickly exploded across the internet, with prices soaring to millions of dollars. However, Seneca, as its creator, was completely unaware of her work's popularity until late last year when she searched for the name on Google and had an awakening.

It is no exaggeration to say that the "Bored Ape Yacht Club" has generated over $1 billion in revenue and attracted mainstream individuals into the crypto space. Yet, Seneca, the core figure of this project who played an indispensable role in turning the idea into reality, has received no recognition.

Watching NFT enthusiasts showcase her various works across every corner of the internet must be a bittersweet feeling. Imagine casually walking into a museum and unexpectedly finding your artwork hanging on a wall adorned with velvet ropes; similarly, when Seneca logged onto Twitter (her Twitter handle is All Seeing Seneca) and saw NBA superstar Stephen Curry using her created image as his profile picture, she was left wide-eyed in shock.

Seneca said, "I really took some time to digest all of this," as she sat cross-legged on the floor of her Manhattan apartment living room, in front of a small gray sofa—beneath which lay a pile of pastel drawings. Behind the sofa was a small, cluttered workspace that Seneca referred to as her studio.

Seneca was born in the United States, but both of her parents are Chinese. She grew up in Shanghai and later moved to the U.S. to attend the Rhode Island School of Design. After graduating in 2016, Seneca moved to New York as a freelance illustrator, and a corner of her apartment became her office. Her specialty was designing vibrant, whimsical characters for advertising and marketing campaigns, such as some 2D animations. (Although her past works were more abstract, she had to find a "realistic" way to turn her creative passion into currency.)

At that time, a creative agent named Nicole Muniz stumbled upon Seneca's college portfolio and greatly admired her skills. Nicole Muniz said, "I particularly loved the details in Seneca's work, down to the lines and brushstrokes." She began introducing Seneca to companies across various industries, including healthcare, insurance, green energy, and finance. Last year, Nicole Muniz called Seneca with a proposal: her childhood friend was creating something called the Bored Ape Yacht Club, and she had joined the project as a consultant, but the team needed graphic designers to create images. In fact, all of this happened during the early development of the NFT industry, and no one anticipated that NFTs would suddenly take the internet by storm.

Nicole Muniz immediately thought of Seneca because of her "chameleon" ability; she believed Seneca was one of the few artists who could paint differently based on themes and projects. Now, Nicole Muniz has become the co-CEO of Web 3 company Yuga Labs, the company behind the "Bored Ape Yacht Club." Another co-founder, Gargamel, was also amazed by the "expressiveness" of the characters Seneca created, stating:

"This is very, very rare. I can feel a complete emotion being conveyed. For the ape art design, we saw the kind of emotion we wanted: a sense of existential boredom."

Nicole Muniz wholeheartedly agreed, saying, "Seneca is particularly good at expressing and bringing characters to life."

Interestingly, Seneca was not familiar with the NFT industry at the time, but during the collaboration, Yuga Labs gave her a lot of freedom. They told Seneca: we want a "punk ape." What do you think that would look like? What style do you like? How do you think it should be designed?

So, Seneca imagined herself as a neighbor of an ape in a messy city, where primates roamed freely as citizens. She envisioned "a kind of ape that is bored with life but has all the money and time in the world, hanging out in metal bars." Not only that, but she also thought about how to interact with such a creature. These were the sources of inspiration for the project.

In fact, the ape images Seneca created are closely related to her own aesthetics: she describes herself as a metal rock musician who plays the Gibson SG—and plays it very well—while also enjoying music from bands like Megadeth, Behemoth, and Bullet for My Valentine. However, she is also a fan of the crude animations of the 1990s, appreciating their boldness and drawing inspiration from them.

It should be clarified that Seneca is not the only illustrator for the project; she added, "I am just the lead artist behind this NFT series." In reality, the body parts of the bored apes were entirely copied from her drawings, while other main features, such as the grinning mouth, bulging eyes, and beanie, were also designed by her. Other artists—such as Thomas Dagley, Migwashere, and a pair of anonymous couples—worked on some of the other features and environments of the "Bored Apes."

Seneca said, "Not many people know that I created the Bored Apes, which is terrifying for an artist."

However, thanks to the rapid spread of the internet, Seneca began to reap the benefits of word-of-mouth, hoping it would help her find more collaborators. Meanwhile, she has been focusing on creating her personal works.

Last December, Seneca launched her first NFT series under her own name, titled: Iconoclast. This series debuted at the Basel Art Fair in Miami, and the four pieces she created were minted on Ethereum and hosted on the Internet Computer blockchain. (Note: Hosting NFTs on the Internet Computer blockchain ensures that NFT artworks will always exist on the public blockchain, eliminating the risk of deletion or cloud interruption.)

Ultimately, these works generated a value of 23.7 ETH, approximately $84,000 at the time of writing. Seneca stated that this money was enough to pay her bills, and she now has enough time to create the next series, which she hopes to launch in February this year. Moreover, Seneca has released a captivating personal style in her creations, a style that has existed for years and continues to evolve. Ken Wong, an illustrator who previously did art direction for Seneca's favorite video game "Alice: Madness Returns," said:

"Seneca's art brings a sense of inspiration."

Ken Wong met Seneca in Shanghai when he gave a talk about his career at the high school Seneca attended, and Seneca later reached out to him. According to Seneca, Ken Wong was her guide into the world of illustration.

Ken Wong added, "If you had to label Seneca's work, you might call it pop surrealism, but that label might not be very comprehensive… because she is still exploring." Seneca is constantly searching for her path, trying different artistic styles, and continuously evolving herself, which I can completely understand.

From the "Bored Apes," you might find that Seneca's creative approach has undergone a technological transformation, but her images often contain a soft, childlike wonder that starkly contrasts with the harsh existential darkness. Ken Wong continued to explain, "This is a very personal and very popular combination. The shapes Seneca uses—these organic, flowing shapes are very dreamlike, with surreal color schemes—I think they illustrate how she perceives things deep within her. But at the same time, these works are actually framed through the lens of pop culture, as if Seneca is rationalizing herself against the backdrop of her own work."

In the 2021 Basel Art Fair series, this emotion is literally embodied in a piece titled "Delirium" (as shown below). In this piece, plants, animals, and limbs emerge from the unnaturally oval eye sockets of a girl's head. Seneca said, "That's how I feel, you know, everything is crazy, and that's okay; that's my way of thinking."

In another piece titled "Can I Be M0ther," Seneca showcases the same girl. However, this time, her bug-like eyes appear soft yet angular, as thick, gooey tears stream down, and it's unclear whether veins, wires, or strings are slipping out of them. These "fluids" fall and wrap around the girl's outstretched hand, which cradles a seemingly malfunctioning toy ape.

"As a commercial artist, I see myself as an agent," Seneca explained. "Art is an extension of your rich emotions; it is very personal, and to some extent, you have to maintain a distance from the work to feel that emotion. That piece is like me saying, 'Can I take back my work? Can I reclaim my identity as an artist?'"

Seneca believes that her state may be caused by "lucid nightmares" that have troubled her since she can remember. Seneca said she has memories from when she was three years old, but at that time, she had a nightmare—

"I was sitting in a stroller," Seneca recalled, "and it made me feel small and vulnerable."

Seneca did not elaborate on the dream, but we can already sense that these bizarre themes have permeated her work, which she says is inspired by cosmic horror. Reflecting on her early years, Seneca said:

"I was more interested in my imagination than in reality."

Seneca admitted that she often remained silent, and much of her childhood was spent that way, sometimes experiencing "fully awake hallucinations."

Every night before sleeping, Seneca would remember all the profound fears she had experienced, believing that if she could confront these fears, they would not appear in her nightmares—but often, the opposite was true, and this mindset kept her awake. "I didn't want to sleep because I was afraid I would jump into that world of fear."

Only recently has Seneca begun to embrace the "crazy parts"—transforming her inner "surreal and meaningless dark art" into something beautiful. In Seneca's view, this approach has a healing effect. "That's why I choose to do this," Seneca explained, while also admitting that she does not want to share these things with many people because she fears being seen as "crazy."

However, Seneca is fortunate.

The "madness" she feels, or "some form of madness," is very popular in the Web 3 space. Frankly, without the "impulse to deviate from the norm," cryptocurrency would not exist. Seneca expressed her hope that the NFT industry will continue to thrive in the coming years, and thanks to her experience with the Bored Ape Yacht Club, she has gained "a rich lesson in life." Therefore, she hopes other aspiring creators can learn more about NFTs, smart contracts, royalties, and so on. Seneca stated, "Be steadfast in your beliefs and work very hard; be patient with yourself. Be kind to yourself. In the crypto community and NFT space, things move very quickly, and you need to pay attention, but don't worry; focus on your strengths, and you will ultimately do well."

Of course, the so-called "good" is also relative.

While we do not know how much profit Seneca has actually made, at least for her, the ratio of input to output is "not ideal." However, Seneca insists that she is very grateful for this experience and has entered a realm she could never have imagined. Since entering the space, she has firmly believed in the concept of NFTs, as NFTs can verify and preserve art, provide royalties for creators, and make the art world more inclusive, reducing reliance on traditional galleries.

Seneca believes that her second NFT series, Iconoclast, is actually an extension based on surrealism, but the works are bolder than before. In fact, every time she discusses her ongoing works, Seneca appears very cautious and continues to emphasize mental health and the power of strong women (even though her new works may contain some "critical" sentiments).

Seneca concluded:

"I am very optimistic about the NFT space; I feel I can fully navigate it."