GM, We are Camille (C) and Jimmy (J), the two members of Anemale, and we are excited to share our story with you:
**C:** Back in 2006, I was 20 years old and I didn’t really know what to do with my life. I was already in a relationship with the person who would become the love of my life, but I was missing something that I was truly passionate in. I needed something strong to help me thrive and feel alive. So, I immersed myself in music and art. I sought a place that would nourish my mind.
**J:** On my side, I grew up in a family of artists where creative stimulation was always present. My hypersensitivity and my asocial/weird side had confined me further into a bubble where only creation mattered. I had already explored various artistic mediums: visual arts, drawing, object-making, graphic design, web design, music... all in a self-taught manner. For me, it was primarily about satisfying my taste for techniques, expressing inner images and emotions, and my great curiosity always led me to discover artists and musicians with a universe outside of trends, often in the avant-garde.
**C:** I discovered incredible artists, spent my nights listening to music, and had many wonderful encounters. I loved discovering new artists, especially those who were little known but had amazing talent, rather than listening to already famous bands. That’s when I discovered Jimmy, who would later become my partner and friend in the artistic project Anemale.
We had a lot in common: artists, music, and he had a truly different dimension. He brought something powerful to me; it was beyond just listening to music or seeing a piece of art. He pushed me to explore what lay behind a work, what we could feel deep within ourselves, what the hidden symbols were, and what meaning we could give to our own introspection.
**J:** For me, this meeting was a true human and artistic enrichment because Camille was always a step ahead in the search for the unexpected and quality. This shared taste fueled a genuine friendship that became increasingly inspiring. Thanks to him, I discovered new artists who, unknowingly, would become my references, without wasting time searching. My life became a rhythm of creations nourished by constant inspiration.
**C:** I really enjoyed having deep exchanges with him, and he became a close friend, even very close, with whom I talked every day about our lives, our loves, our private lives, our humorous and artistic references, and everything happening around us. Then he introduced me to his music, his art, and it really opened something powerful within me. I was in awe, contemplative. I didn’t know how to help him promote his works, but I wanted to help him, to highlight art simply and share it with the world.
**J:** I must say that I had many gaps in that area. I had always set aside the social, commercial, and administrative aspects... I felt so honored to be featured on his blog among the artists who inspired me. Camille always encouraged me and allowed me to grow because I felt his feedback was constructive and sincere, never complacent...
**C:** At first, I started a Tumblr to showcase musical artists, including his music. I even created a website that had over 400K views at the time; it was cool, especially for discovering little-known artists. Then I became interested in art and exhibitions. He introduced me to incredible artists like Yves Klein, Matisse, Jesse Kenda, lesser-known works by Dalí or Chagall. This adventure lasted over 10 years, where we were friends, always exchanging and nourishing our respective experiences.
**J:** A beautiful friendship, very present and important, without ever having met. We spent countless sleepless nights philosophizing about life and art...
**C:** It’s true that our exchanges were very intense; I didn’t know anyone else in my circle who could understand me as well. A few years later, life took us down different paths, and for about a year and a half, two years, we didn’t talk much. I had my personal and family life; I had children, and I also found my way in my professional field, and I didn’t have much free time anymore. I trained to become a mental health nurse, which was a significant step for me to help people experiencing depressive episodes, help people facing social difficulties and mental health issues. I continued my life, but I always kept an eye on his creations. I always had this idea that one day he would be known because he had shown me his works, his videos, his creations, his music, his paintings, his sculptures. Yes, he is a multidisciplinary artist, a bit of a creative genius who was just waiting to be revealed to the public. The longer I waited, the more I saw that his social media posts had still not found the audience they deserved.
**J:** My creativity works in cycles, and I went through different stages, always responding to my curiosity, trying to improve without ever thinking about the commercial and communicative aspects. Externally, and probably naively, I thought that the notion of popularity could restrict the purity of intuition, spontaneity, and freedom of expression. So, it was very secondary for me, even though I felt a slight frustration.
**C:** Then, in 2021, with the crypto boom, I became interested in crypto art. I thought I should try something to help Jimmy, always with a sense of kindness, and I started to reconnect with him without necessarily mentioning what I had in mind, just to check in on how he was doing and to ask if his works had been revealed, shown, or exhibited anywhere. But no, nothing. He told me he continued to create out of passion, but that having a presence on social media wasn’t his thing.
**C:** So, I wanted to go much further. I needed to explore this world, but I also needed funds. So, I sold my bike to have a sort of investment and get involved in projects, understand how all these mints, marketplaces, and contracts worked. I tried to integrate ETH, but seeing the fees, I thought it wasn’t possible, and I didn’t have the necessary network. I didn’t have enough experience. I stumbled upon a really cool blockchain called FTM and an incredible network of artists and collectors known as the TombHeads auctions. I had finally found the beginning of our path. So, I started talking to Jimmy, telling him that there was something else, that physical art could be digital, and that we could finally do something with his art. I had this idea that one day his art should be highlighted, and I proposed to show him how everything worked and to launch him into the world of crypto art.
**J:** I can admit now that, honestly, at that moment, I didn’t understand anything, and I couldn’t imagine for a second where this project would take us! I was just happy to reconnect with my quirky friend, who hadn’t changed, still as obsessive and ahead of the game as before. He hadn’t forgotten me, and I hadn’t forgotten him either... And despite a few years of silence, I had every reason to follow him in his new plan.
**C:** He showed me a collection called Organic Dreams, and I told him we absolutely had to showcase this collection. That’s when he said to me, “I’m on board, but we do it together.” The two of us had really deep exchanges, and we arrived at the idea that we needed to link two people for the same dynamic. We wanted to create this project for a true collaboration because we think alike. He would be the creative hand, and I would be the brain, and yet, the roles could interchange. That’s the strength of a true relationship and project: mutually supporting each other and growing together.
We were, in a way, an artistic movement constantly in reflection or creation. He already had his works, but I had to channel his energy because you should know that Jimmy can spend nights creating and then stop for 2-3 hours...
**J:** It’s true, without eating or drinking, yes... lol.
**C:** ...and then go back to it because he has this urge to create. Sometimes he would ask me what I felt or what I wanted to express in the project, and he would create it from scratch. It was something powerful, unstoppable. Anemale was always awake, always bubbling, the hand of creation and the brain of project reflection as one linked entity.
**J:** What’s funny is that this relationship, although it evolved into a different project, still had the same dynamics as before—this mutual, nourishing, delirious, and profound connection. I see it as the essence or engine of our friendship.
**C:** That’s actually our logo: the hand cannot function without the brain, and the brain cannot function without the hand. That’s where everything took on meaning.
We then launched on FTM and held live sales on Discord every Saturday night for over a year, where more than 300 artists and collectors would spend 2 minutes presenting their works. We had our first introduction in October 2021, and there was a contest to create works around the theme of Halloween. I explained the concept to Jimmy, and he created 6 pieces that were all sold within 2 weeks. Very quickly, Jimmy continued to create, and we sold about fifty works. It was a powerful moment during the live auctions where everyone could react on the Discord live. We had incredible projects, and there was even a big project that wanted to bring us to the USA to present our work. (Yes, we are both French) A major gallery in Paris also wanted to exhibit our work both digitally and physically, but we needed to put up a significant amount of money to print the pieces with our printer, and we couldn’t carry the project through. We continued to sell our works and even printed some to send to the USA, Austria, and England; it was truly a great satisfaction.
**J:** It was at that moment that I wanted to explore symbolism. I wanted to create something that could tell stories and speak deeply to collectors in a limitless, free, and introspective way. I began creating simple characters and a universe of not entirely defined forms, allowing for a wide range of interpretations. All of this was combined with color arrangements unique to me, certainly inspired by my experience in floral art and decoration. Camille was very excited and continued to feed the emerging project with his ideas, tastes, visions, and shared emotions day by day. It was the first time we talked about my visual creations, that my artistic work was valued and contested around a price...
**C:** Then the crash happened, as we all know, and everything stopped very quickly. But we had to build something even stronger. At that moment, Jimmy was feeling a bit down; he was going through difficult personal challenges.
**J:** I was experiencing burnout and unfortunately harassment at work... which was both a trauma and a resolution, a starting point for a new life. Thanks to Camille, this brief experience in NFTs allowed me to realize what was most important and how I would approach life from that moment on: to create and take the time to love my loved ones.
**C:** I gave him the time to recover and supported him as best I could because I couldn’t let my friend fall. It took time, but he came back even stronger than before. One day, I was on vacation in Spain, and Jimmy started sending me layers by the dozen. Previously, I had talked to him about collections where layers could define a criterion and modify a work. Jimmy didn’t know about Web 3.0; he was far from it and didn’t know about this kind of collection, but I had to show him what was happening so he could draw inspiration from these collections and put the Anemale signature on them. That’s when we began creating the Symbolic Cities collection. We spent months on it, and the unique aspect was that I had my place in the creation and assembly. It was quite incredible; for 15 months, we created, assembled, imagined, and inspired each other to create this collection.
**J:** For me, it’s the best collection we’ve created. We managed to meet the criteria of rarity by creatively twisting them around symbols. Each city tells a story, an emotion, a whim, a reference. We talk about cities here, but they could all be immaterial, like a metaphor, a soul, something alive, intangible, resonating in the heart of the collector. Each layer contributes to the interpretation of a city, whether associatively or not.
**C:** The minting was very complicated because on ETH, it’s always the same issue—the network is closed, and no one responded to DMs. However, we did have some sales with major collectors, some of whom own CryptoPunks, but we wanted to showcase this collection or world. We continued to work hard; I kept sharing our works, and we were able to exhibit our pieces at NFT Paris thanks to Eleonora Brizi from SuperRare, at NFT NYC on one of the largest billboards in NYC, in Amsterdam thanks to Artcrush, and in Belgium thanks to HUG Gallery.
**J:** These exhibitions are still unimaginable to me.
**C:** I was going in circles on X when I stumbled upon Warpcast, and the story took a rapid turn. I met incredible artists, but I found that they were too confined within the channels; I was thirsty for curiosity. So, I wanted to discover something else and had amazing encounters on this network, including Jesse, Jonny, and Jason—the three Js, lol. Hypersub was also something significant because a strong bond was created between our collectors and us during our exchanges. We could chat in the group, and they were all very present daily. link here
I managed to carve out a little space for myself on Warpcast, and I thank Maretus for including us in this new episode on the Success blog. We have many artistic projects ahead, like bringing the Symbolic Cities project to Base (soon), Artnames with our friend Arrotu (soon), collections that have never been shared before, and collaborating with artists—not just on my own. That’s also what Anemale is about; it’s one of my values from the beginning. My project wasn’t selected for the Moxie Retro Grant 1, but I haven’t said my last word. Every day, I continue to support my fellow artists and collectors because, like many of us here, I believe we need to grow together and not just individually, I’ve minted nearly 400 pieces on Base and Zora, I create daily art, I highlight artists everyday and I don’t plan on stopping there. Jesse said it well: it’s not simply "higher," it’s "higher together." It’s a great inspiration for everyone. If you help each other, you will rise higher. This message resonated strongly with me.
**J:** What you can take away is that Anemale is in constant evolution. This project knows how to adapt while remaining true to its essence, and it is not lacking in resources.
**C:** I’ll conclude with this: the Fluid Matter from Mind collection is a great success with over 500 editions and 244 collectors still ongoing. Drops occur every 15 days for our subscribers on Hypersub (join us ;) A new collection featuring horizontal landscapes 1/1 artworks is now live on Highlight, with a reduced price for our subscribers 0.004 ETH (Public Mint 0.015ETH).
We have many more ideas in mind, we haven’t finished creating, imagining, advancing, and sharing our artistic creations. We’re grateful to everyone who collects our work and supports us daily. Our group chat on Hypersub is growing every day, filled with truly incredible people.
Hypersub: https://www.hypersub.xyz/s/dimensional-program-mvocixtfwv0g/1
website : https://weareanemale.com/
zora : https://zora.co/@anemale
Foundation : https://foundation.app/collection/anemy
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