Next Generation Tagstr.

Produced by a vibe-coded generative script inspired by Rodin, Basquiat, Pollock, Miro, Twombly, Pepe, Nostrich, and the Bitcoin Honeybadger. Elements are based on data transmuted from all tagstrs up to the time of mint. Marks the new implementation of visible images in the text field. Tagstr note.

## Not a store of value.

In a bitcoinized world, the worst aspects of cash and art are laid bare. I used a free image program (via Venice.ai, see watermark) to digitize this concept, demonstrating the low effort needed for generating art post-Ai, much the same as the low effort needed to print more fiat. Post-NFTs, digital art has widely come to be viewed as not much more than a tool of speculation, rugs and money laundering. Here, the art is posted on a NOSTR kind1 note, which is technically impossible to “flip” and can only be zapped with sound money. Tagstr note.

## Plebstrs.

Plebstrs are the first profile picture (pfp) collection using a NOSTR Kind1 inscription protocol I designed with Ai. Plebstrs and other inscriptions (tagstrs) can be zapped like any other note on NOSTR. Plebstrs subvert expectations in an art market that is saturated with pfp collections– although they appear to be a tribute to NFTs like Cryptopunks or Ordinals inscriptions like Nodemonkes, they cannot technically be transacted since Kind1 notes are permanently associated with the creator’s npub signature. However, because the zap data is public, collectors can view them in an online gallery and top zappers can show them off in a trophy case– so long as they are the highest zapper. Plebstrs can never be bought but can always be zapped, an ethos that matches NOSTR culture. Collection site.

## Non Local.

When I was a kid I would mentally shrink myself down so that every small thing on the ground seemed huge. The familiar, freshly laid white caliche on white soil, antlion traps and desert termite tubes always looked like they corresponded to a harsh geology of a sterile planet, the pockmark craters on some asteroid and maybe even the above ground tunnel dwellings of an alien race somewhere faraway. After decades away, I returned back to my hometown and in a few bars over a few nights, more than a couple of strangers asked where I was visiting from, wouldn’t believe I was from around here, even that I didn’t seem like I belonged and “wouldn’t stay”. No longer a local boy dreaming of far off landscapes, I had inverted my reality through the wormhole and was now an alien in my hometown. “(Non)Local” is a nod to nonlocal consciousness, mental links we have to each other at a distance, perhaps including ourselves across time and place.

## Signal to Noise.

I removed the context of data that was collected in four of my published experiments, leaving only single digits. When indexed in a table, there appears to be only unrelated, random numbers. However, since the numbers come from real world data, there remains meaningful hidden structure in the grid. This reverses the process of scientific discovery and invites the viewer to participate in parsing signal from noise. Inscription.

## Self-portrait, Mutation.

I extracted DNA directly from my cells and determined a short genetic sequence from within them, which is visualized by the bottom trace. Each peak and color represents a unique DNA base (A, T, C or G) in part of a gene with 13 bases shown here in total. In a second sample, I mutated my DNA enzymatically, producing the top trace. This biogenerative process resulted in successfully evolving my DNA. The center base changed from T to C, resulting in a slightly different, mixed peak by comparison. To further separate this work from being purely scientific, I did not record specific details about the experimental process. Inscription.

## PEPEDASE.

In bacteria, the enzyme Peptidase E (PepE) is encoded by the gene PEPE. PEPEDASE is an atomic view of the PepE enzyme’s spatial architecture based on publicly available scientific data. I visually arranged the perspective and coloring to pay homage to Pepe the Frog, a major character in early bitcoin art experimentation. The creator of Pepe, Matt Furie, launched a #SavePepe movement which sought to produce positive derivative works of Pepe. While this movement had its height long before I became aware of it, I made this piece (and PEPEGENE, below) in the same spirit. Inscription.

## PEPEGENE.

Genes in living organisms are subject to mutation across time. In contrast, information on the bitcoin ledger is immutable. By etching the pepE DNA sequence onto bitcoin, its ability to evolve is lost. This challenges the significance of genetic information in a foreign digital context. I chose to keep the title “PEPEGENE” in upper case as a homage to the naming convention for Counterparty assets. This additionally contrasts the notation of a digital asset identifier (PEPEGENE) against the notation of biological identifiers (a,t,c or g), which are kept in lower case. Inscription.

## Monoliths.

Monoliths are a powerful symbols used throughout mathematics, religion, and science fiction. Here, I add dimensionality to censored graffiti by using simple 2D lines. This collapses the space between the original artist, the remover of the graffiti and myself in a three-step ritual that is carried out across time.