The Seen and the Unseen captures the balance between presence and mystery, reflecting the layered nature of identity in Web3. It explores the feeling of being both engaged and detached, where connections feel real yet incomplete, and hints at the deeper call that moves us forward in life.
Subject: NosLlama@0xNosToca
Subject's Photographer: Nes Solorio, Bahía Photos
Backstory:
24 Feb 2021, I dropped The Bitcoin Angel open edition on @niftygateway and promised to gift one lucky collector a hand-drawn portrait when BTC hit $77,777. On Nov 6, 2024 (3 years, 8 months later) it happened.
The winner, @0xNosToca held her Bitcoin Angel from day one. A quiet but devoted Web3 collector, active in the @muratpak Discord and early to NFTs. She commissioned her first in 2020 from Pak. Her presence was real, even if her identity remained unseen.
From the start she was hesitant to dox. She has no personal information online. Just a presence. An X handle. A digital soul. She asked if we could create something poetic, symbolic and anonymous. I said yes.
She chose to use veils, shadows and movement. Revealing just enough with the natural light and the flowing fabric… it became about presence and the mysterious in-between.
We explored titles together. NosLlama@OxNosToca means 'It calls us. It touches us'. But one phrase captured it all: The Seen and the Unseen. Presence and mystery. Web3 identity. A connection that’s real, but incomplete.
I returned to graphite. Drew, erased, redrew and repeat. Layers like memory. The eyes became the anchor. For me, it was meditative. Emotional. A return to why I began drawing in the first place.
OxNosToca didn’t want a conventional portrait and I wanted to create something with depth. This was a collaboration: an emotional, creative exchange across countries and screens with a shared vision.
The Seen and the Unseen is now complete. A 1/1 NFT with the framed physical. More than a portrait; it’s a reflection of how we exist in Web3. Known, unknown, and somehow connected.
