- Aleph
- Anna Gat
- Ariel LeBeau
- Austin Robey
- David Blumenstein
- David Ehrlichman
- David Kerr
- Devon Moore
- Dexter Tortoriello
- Drew Coffman
- Drew Millard
- Eileen Isagon Skyers
- FWB Staff
- Gaby Goldberg
- Greg Bresnitz
- Greta Rainbow
- Ian Rogers
- Jessica Klein
- Jose Fernandez da Ponte
- Jose Mejia
- Kelani Nichole
- Kelsie Nabben
- Kevin Munger
- Khalila Douze
- Kinjal Shah
- Kyla Scanlon
- LUKSO
- Lindsay Howard
- Maelstrom
- Marc Moglen
- Marvin Lin
- Mary Carreon
- Matt Newberg
- Mike Pearl
- Mike Sunda (PUSH)
- Moyosore Briggs
- Nicole Froio
- Ruby Justice Thelot
- Ryne Saxe
- Simon Hudson
- Steph Alinsug
- The Blockchain Socialist
- Willa Köerner
- Yana Sosnovskaya
- Yancey Strickler
- iz
Mon Jun 03 2024
Introducing MENACE ON THE PLAYGROUND: The meme antics of Shermie by ALL SEEING SENECA, a dynamic timed edition with over 1,500 possible permutations, presented with FWB for BASE’s Onchain Summer exclusively on Highlight.xyz. Drops Friday, June 7.
Shermie, the adorable three-eyed white dog’s antics have infiltrated the meme community and provide a delightful and cheeky commentary on the landscape that is internet culture & crypto. Menace on The Playground is an art project that is mischievous in nature, as our ever-curious protagonist wreaks havoc on a certain rock, green frog, dons a familiar pink hat, and more. Cooked up by ALL SEEING SENECA.
We sat down with ALL SEEING SENECA to get to know Shermie's origin story, and more about ALL SEEING SENECA's taste.
This collection is quite different from previous artwork of yours, tell us about what inspired you to create something so…funny and of the moment?
In my past artworks and the Perils collection I have created full worlds and deep storytelling within the art. For Menace on The Playground I wanted to have fun with it. I wanted to laugh. I wanted to make people laugh. It's a perfect fit for an open edition that is a timestamp of “now.” It’s also a showcase of Shermie’s personality I never got to express before.TL;DR just have a fucking good time and have a sense of humor sometimes.
What is Shermie’s origin story? (we love them!!) Will Shermie be up to anything this summer?
Shermie came about when I was trying to create a character that could both represent me, and represent different abstract concepts at the same time. They should be interchangeable between artworks and eras of work, something of a blank slate that I can mold and shape as I go.His original form is his dreamy eyes, stuck in a state of existential dread - both adorable and unsettling.
Then he became the eccentric Shermicus in my last series, Perils of Sēsē. Fast forward a few months and now he’s being a troll in Menace on The Playground. And LATER he’ll be making another appearance this summer in something new, an announcement not made yet.
About Seneca's taste:
What are you reading?
It’s technically a series of short stories, but still a proper book - “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream'' by Harlan Ellison. It’s a sci fi post apocalyptic narrative with AI elements and can be analyzed for interesting commentary on humanity. It’s rather bleak and dark, you have been warned. Some of the book has Ellison’s eccentric, cynical rants - which I find pretty funny. You get to hear his brain and why he wrote something so messed up. It’s telling. “No Mouth” then became this incredible point and click narrative heavy, adventure game, which is how I first found out about it. I return to it for inspiration a lot.
What are you listening to?
Been listening to a lot of Testament (the heavy metal band). They’re so good.Also choir songs and instrumentals. They’re refreshing, melodically beautiful and trancelike. It’s inspiring the development of my current body of work’s story (not announced yet!).
What are you watching?
Last film I watched that really struck me was the indie horror “The Borderlands” (or “The last prayer”). I’m so desensitized to horror that it’s pretty rare that a story sticks in my mind and gives me that “dread” feeling I’m always chasing. This film did that. Also Desperate Housewives. I regret not watching this show sooner.
Current scent?
- Eau du New York in the Summer Parfum. I love smelling like hot garbage.
- Gris Charnel by BDK. I have way too many warm woody amber scents, but this one dries down almost to a subtle honey, is kind of jammy and feels like I’m in an elegant bookstore.
Current beverage?
Lots of wine and black coffee. I’m craving a dirty martini right now.
And I’ve been drinking a lot of chai in my dreams for some reason. Does that count?
What is something you can’t stop thinking about?
I’m obsessed with indie game titles. Nothing new there. The writing done on these projects is so incredibly well done and I think Hollywood filmmaking can learn a lot from this group of creatives. Very very underrated creative output that doesn’t get the attention it deserves.One thing I would advise creatives on is to always seek inspiration OUTSIDE your field of work and industry. So that there is less chance your work is just recycled trends from within the bubble and has a better chance of feeling fresher.