The Repetitions

Introducing The Repetitions, a generative art collection by TEJI. Inspired by the countless iterations of the now iconic TEJI character. The Repetitions symbolises the power of iteration and consistent effort over a long period of time.

The collection consists of 111 generative art pieces minted on Layer 2 Ethereum's Base Blockchain.

Each piece will be available to mint at 0.003 ETH on highlight.xyz

A Note From TEJI

Before I stumbled into the weird world of web3 I consistently bounced around online identities. I was unsure who I was and not confident in my ability to create. It wasn't until I decided to finally stick with my new online name that I began becoming more creatively confident.

The now iconic TEJI character has allowed me to explore multiple mediums from music production, video game development, clothing design, toy making and everything in between.

The character itself and the road to where I am today has never been perfect. It's been a series of small wins and iterations over a long period of time that has forged me into the person I am today.

It's taken years of iteration of the TEJI character to get to where we are today. Hundreds of products, drawings and other miscellaneous ideas have come and gone through the years before coming to the spur of the moment idea to create a generative art collection inspired by TEJI.

My ethos when it comes to creating is simple. Get going and then get good. Perfectionism and the fear of failure is often what holds so many people back from embarking on their creative journey.

Which brings me to The Repetitions..

As an artist and creator I genuinely believe in the idea that meaning is formed through repetition. It's what we do everyday that makes us who we are. If you want to grow in any aspect of your life it's going to take consistent effort over a long period of time.

A single soup can means nothing until you use the same iconography in an entire body of work before it builds any meaningful cultural cache. This is the power of repetition.

Most of the great artists understand this power and often incorporate the same iconography and symbols across their bodies of work. It's exactly what's been able to turn Murakami's iconic flower motif into a symbol of luxury for hype-beasts across the world.

My interest in semiotics and symbols in general goes back to my time studying design at university. I've always looked up to artists like Warhol, Haring and Murakami who all understood the power of semiotics in their work. Warhol used this power to critique the commodification of culture through his hyper repetition of high and low cultural symbols like generic Campbells soup cans contrasted with imagery of Marilyn Monroe.

While, Keith Haring understood the power of bridging highly coveted art pieces to the masses through affordable t-shirts and other collectables through activations like the iconic Pop Shop.

I aim to bring the intersection of art, design and technology to those who may not be able to afford the now highly coveted pieces of generative art on the blockchain like an Autoglyph, Fidenza, Ringer or Chromie Squiggle.

Which is why I've chosen to bring The Repetitions to Base at an affordable price of 0.003 ETH (~$10)

Why Release on Base?

The decision to release The Repetitions collection on a Layer 2 like Base was a no brainer since Base has actively become the home of the builder. Without the likes of Jesse Pollock and the rest of the Base contributors we wouldn't have the recent exponential rise of on chain creativity. Base has enabled the everyday person the ability to enter the once exclusive world of Ethereum, digital collectables and financial liberation.

While only limited at 111 unique NFTs the collection has purposefully been priced at an affordable 0.003 ETH (~$10) in line with the ethos of building on a democratised Layer 2 like Base. I wanted the collection to be accessible not only to the veterans of the space but also to people who are only now entering the space and would like to enter the world of Crypto Art.

The Repetitions collection is also CC0 which means there are zero copyright restrictions on the entire work. I actively encourage builders, creators and artists to remix the work in any way they'd like. An entire open source library of the collections code is available publicly on my Github. The decision to open source my work was made in the spirit of decentralisation and permissionless collaboration. If you'd like to read more into my ethos on remix culture check out my article on the value chain here.

Physicals

In the spirit of trying to bridge the physical and digital worlds a custom 16x16" print of your token will be available on tejitopia.com exclusively for holders of the collection. Along with this a t-shirt and print bundle will also be available for anyone who wants to bring The Repetitions into the real world.

Final Word

The Repetitions stands on the shoulders of the great Snowfro, Tyler Hobbs, Larva Labs, Art Blocks and Highlight who have pioneered the way for generative art. Without those before me I could never even get close to what I do today.

The Repetitions are for the budding builders. The one's still figuring things out as they go. The hackers plugging together random code they found on the internet trying to bring their visions to life.

The Repetitions are a nod to the endless journey we as creators dedicate our entire lives to. I hope that The Repetitions is able to inspire at least one person to begin their creative journey and start putting in their reps, hopefully on chain.

Always be building,

TEJI