HIDDEN STORIES: CHAPTER ONESIGHT OF HAND
A NFT Collection by Michelle Viljoen
NOW AVAILABLE ON OPENSEA
There are hints to lives lived all around us, whispering secrets to the world.
All you need to do is find them.
Michelle has always had a fascination with anthropology, especially how we as a society behave around strangers in those moments when we briefly let our guard down. She attempts to capture moments of raw emotion that she connects with and in doing so hopes to incite connection and emotion within the viewer too.
50 PHotographs
∞ hidden stories
HIDDEN STORIES
A FLEETING MOMENT, WHISPERING SECRETS TO THE WORLD
We all have our own journeys, and with that, our own stories, the ones we wrote ourselves, the ones others have written about us, and the remnants of those passed down to us by others. These stories and moments shape us, and they leave traces of themselves behind as they silently whisper their secrets into the world
I have always focused on capturing the small, often overlooked moments surrounding us. I've become increasingly enamored by how we present ourselves to those around us juxtaposed by what lies beneath, a constant search for clues. When I photograph someone, I can't help but wonder where they have been. How many stories have been collected along their journey? But most importantly, how many stories are yet to be written?
For about two years after the pandemic started, I was isolated. As a means to cope I spent a lot of time looking through my archives and realized that it's always been the small moments, something often overlooked, a hand, a shadow, one person's expression amongst many.
For years we've been tucked away behind masks, covering ourselves. Yet our hands are even more exposed than ever. I felt the need to dive deeper, isolating the traces of hidden stories upon our hands.
HIDDEN STORIES_
Passing hands
When I look at a piece of art, I can't help but wonder where it's been. Upon whose walls did it hang? What conversations did it overhear? What did it mean to the collector? Did they have beautiful, hilarious, sad, or peaceful moments in the rooms where it once hung? I wish I could place my hand upon the frame and see its memories.
I feel strongly that this is in an incredibly important part of an artworks provenance, one that has never been recorded.
This is how the concept of Hidden Stories came to be.
Through the power of the blockchain and my own custom smart contract, we created a beautiful convergence of my fascination with hidden stories, allowing collectors to leave their traces behind by adding their own hidden story to each HS NFT they own.
These stories will be cemented into the NFTs metadata, with another story being added every time they pass hands, connecting us all.
ABOUT THE DROP
hidden stories. Chapter one: sight of hand
50 1/1 NFTS
Chapter One - Sight of Hand, includes 50 1/1 photographs made over the course of 6 years, these photographs have been captured in South Africa, New York, London, and Japan.
Each NFT will be listed for 0.75Ξ
CUSTOM SMART CONTRACT
Hidden Stories is a collection of ERC721 tokens minted on Michelle’s own custom smart contract with the assistance of GuppyNFT and TransientLabs. The Contract will be linked here as soon as it is deployed for you to review.
HIDDEN STORIES
Each NFT is accompanied by a Hidden Story, a unique collaborative written piece embedded into the metadata of each NFT.
Each collector has the ability to add a single story to a Hidden Story NFT they own, cementing their words into the blockchain. With each successive collector having the chance to add to the NFT’s hidden story each time the token passes hands.
VIEW COLLECTION.
how it works
ROADMAP
stage one
RESERVE LIST
The Hidden Stories RL is now open. Public mint is scheduled for 25 September 2022.
Join my Discord.
Secure up to 3 NFTs per wallet. Each NFT will be listed for 0.75Ξ
Current holders of NFTs by Michelle Viljoen are automatically eligible for the reserve list, additional allocations will be granted on a first come first serve basis. secure your spot.
stage two
MINT
Hidden Stories will be minted on Michelle’s custom ERC721 Hidden Story smart contract. Mint is live on 25 September 2022.
NFTs will be minted from OpenSea, via the Hidden Stories contract on the Ethereum blockchain as ERC721 tokens. They will appear in your wallet and under the official Hidden Stories collection on OpenSea and other marketplaces.
stage Three
HIDDEN STORIES
Each holder of a Hidden Stories NFT will have the opportunity to add a single new hidden story entry to the HS NFT(s) they own.
Each NFT in this collection will store its own unique Hidden Story in its metadata, to resiliently maintain the NFT’s story along with the addresses and pseudonyms of its contributors.
As each NFT passes hands, countless stories will be added to the metadata, cemented into the blockchain to live on forever.
Adding your story
Find the photograph(s) you collected on my collection page
Scroll to beneath the photo and connect your wallet via the button.
Complete the fields, once done you can add the story.
Approve the transaction on your MetaMask Wallet. The transaction will have a small gas fee.
WORDS FROM COLLECTORS
