NFT Artist Maliksi Zaragoza on the Absurdity of Life and the Power of Art

Maliksi Zaragoza is a digital artist known for his colorful and whimsical style. In a recent interview, he shared the inspiration behind his art and the message he hopes to convey through it.

“Life is absurd. Life is whimsical. Life is finite,” Zaragoza said. “I tend to be particular in color use,” he added, describing his artistic style.

Zaragoza’s work often explores themes of mortality and postcolonial residues, as well as the absurdity of life. He creates his art using a stylus on his phone, producing both still images and animated gifs.

The artist cites the pandemic, a near death experience, and exposure to the web 3 space as key factors that pushed him to make art more frequently. He also credits the influence of artists like Beeple, who famously produces a new piece of art every day, with inspiring him to maintain a consistent creative practice.

Despite facing challenges as a latecomer to the art world, Zaragoza stays motivated by the fear of being constantly inadequate. “It’s that fear of being constantly inadequate that nudges me to grab the stylus and try to make something every day,” he said.

Zaragoza also highlighted the changing nature of the art world, noting the increased access to a diverse range of art and the tools available to artists to promote and manage their work. “More access to varied art, and artists have more tools to promote themselves and manage finances (social media, crypto/defi, web 3 tech and community),” he said.

In terms of the role of art in society, Zaragoza believes it serves as a way to bring humanity back from a world increasingly dominated by automation and AI. “Art is communication that nudges you out of the routine grind and makes you stop and think about what is the purpose of all ‘this’,” he said. “Once automation and AI become vastly prevalent, art will make us pause and bring back some humanity to our society.”

Zaragoza’s art can be found on his Twitter and Instagram accounts, as well as on objkt (tezos) and opensea (eth). Follow him to stay updated on his latest creations and exhibitions.