We sat down with Brazilian artist, Bruno Militelli to chat about his newly released collection: Nexus, that uses his macro photography series on soap bubbles. Keep reading for some of the conversation highlights to get to know this talented artist merging science, art, and now fashion.
remx: Thank you for joining us today. Can you share with us a little more about your artist journey? We would love to know how long you have been a photographer. Have you always been into macro photography?
Bruno Militelli: Before I started on macro photography about five years ago, as many other photographers I know, I ended up exploring many different genres. There was a time that I really enjoyed doing night photography with long exposures. Landscape photography has always fascinated me too, but as soon I got my hands on my first dedicated macro lens, I realized that there were so many opportunities to create incredible images just by observing the small details.
So, after that my passion for macro photography has grown naturally out of the desire to see nature up close, especially the incredible patterns and details that are difficult to see with the naked eye, from many natural elements, like the veins from a dry leaf, feathers, crystals I bought on a store or maybe a shell I found on the beach. Over time, I came to see my macro lens as a modern instrument capable of transporting me to a new and unexplored world.
remx: You are releasing a collection with remx in the near future, we are very excited for your drop. Is this your first collection released in web3 or have you released other collections in the web3 space? What made you decide to release your art in web3?
Bruno Militelli: From the middle of 2021, following what was happening in the world of web3 and cryptocurrencies, I noticed a growth in the NFT market and more news coming out about it. I was talking to a friend who is also very fond of this topic and understands more about the technical part, as he had already been mining bitcoin for a few years. I decided to ask for his help to create my first Ethereum wallet and my profile on OpenSea. At this point I had already identified a good potential to make part of my work available in this format as it seemed to be an attractive opportunity to show my work to a new audience beyond the borders of my country.
I kept following the market until a few months later when I read a news that a new platform/marketplace called Sloika, was specialized in the commercialization of photography NFTs. It was based in the style of a virtual photo gallery, which made me very interested. But to be able to sell through Sloika there is a curation, so I decided to take the risk and applied, a few weeks later I received the email that had been accepted to create my first collection of NFTs.
In February of that year, I launched my genesis collection of NFTs, “Iridescence”, which in less than a week was sold out. My work was very well received by NFT collectors on Twitter. Taking advantage of the momentum, a few months later I dropped a second collection, the “Space Invaders”, and likewise it sold out in no time, which made me very excited!
With this new possibility of selling my work as NFTs, I started experimenting with some bolder ideas that previously wouldn’t work well as print works. My aim is to show something totally unique in my presence in the NFT photography space, with a more graphic, modern, and conceptual identity within macro photography that I believe will have greater acceptance among web3 collectors.
remx: What do you feel has influenced you as an artist when it comes to your work? Do you have any cultural influences in your work?
Bruno Militelli: Curiosity has always been my main motivation. The desire to explore different processes, natural elements and scientific experiments is certainly my greatest inspiration and it was through macro photography that I managed to transform this inner desire into a form of artistic expression.
I have also always been fascinated by the concept of abstraction and I believe that I specialized in this genre to satisfy my desire to create abstract images. For me nature becomes an abstract manifestation, transcending the materiality of the elements that composes it.
As I developed my work in macro photography and understood the main techniques and challenges involved in this style, I began to realize many new possibilities that only this closeup perspective could give me. Over time I discovered a new way to feed my creativity, always with the aim of creating intriguing compositions and visually interesting images.
remx: Do you have any advice for other photographers who may be interested in utilizing NFTs? Did you see success on any specific platforms? Do you have any tips for building your collector base as a photographer?
Bruno Militelli: Yes, for me the main challenge I see is the need to maintain a constant presence on Twitter: engaging with other artists, collectors, and keep interacting with the community. It takes a lot of dedication and time to establish itself in this market.
Being accepted as a Sloika’s artist certainly helped me a lot from the beginning, as I achieved greater visibility since the platform itself is very present in the community and already plays an important part in promoting its photographers, but since Twitter is where everything happens it was essential to maintain an interaction in this social network.
So far, I have two collections available on Sloika and one edition on OpenSea, which are all sold out. With my next one, Nexus, it will be my third collection at Sloika.
I’m also working on other collections to launch next year and with the various platforms available in the NFT market, but I still haven’t decided which one I’m going to make my next one available, each one has its advantages, and disadvantages, but with so many options today it has become easier to reach a wider audience.
Stay up to date on Bruno Militelli’s work on his website: https://www.brunomilitelli.com/
Or follow along on hisjourney on Twitter and Instagram.
remx makes it easy for anyone to design their own digital fashion collections. Check it out at remx.xyz or sign up for the mailing list.
