Lemny Perez, a queer Latina from Harlem, NY, creates art that draws on her feelings. She is a trained clinical psychologist and uses that knowledge to inform her work. She came into the NFT ecosystem in March 2021 and started curating at Searchlight, Domains in the metaverse and at the NFT.NYC conference. She was a founding member of a DAO called the Dream Conduit as the NFT coach and community builder. She has sold 88 1-of-1 NFTs and is grateful for all of her experiences so far.
She has always been a very busy person and takes hot baths to maintain her composure. She says she’s inspired by the here and now, particularly the people in the NFT community. The artwork in her daily Twitter feed is a constant inspiration to push her artistic proclivities.
She was influenced by Jim Morrison as a teenager — his freedom of expression was very enticing. She read the same philosophers that he read, so as a 13-year-old, her mind was opened to many new perspectives.
She likes to lean into her feelings and emotions when creating art. There is a fervor that informs what she is creating. Her process is spontaneous and compulsive, and she compares it to meditation. There is a suspension of ego, time and space when she is in the moment creating.
Her answer was no when I asked her about the current setup of the artist-collector economy being sustainable for the NFT ecosystem. “This is a limited space with limited people; I see them as collectives, and hierarchies within these collectives exist. I’m about equality, not elitism.”
When asked about her process, she said she painted with acrylics on canvas for about 20 years before getting into NFTs. She started working digitally during the pandemic. Whenever she starts creating, she is present at that moment. Sometimes that will mean sketching on paper, writing on paper, and then integrating all of her ideas onto the screen.
Because she is also a writer, I wanted to know if she has been using AI, and she has. She hasn’t minted any of them, but she is experimenting with it.
I was curious if her success in the NFT ecosystem could be considered a new revenue stream, and she quickly responded, no. She hasn’t set aside the time to market herself and has spent the last two years experimenting and finding her community and her style. She also said that she didn’t come into the space to be a full-time artist, but to change the world.
Her favorite artists are Frida Kahlo and Jean Michel Basquiat.
Her favorite color is green. Green is lush and full of life for her.
She is currently working on creating NFTs from her dissertation on women working in the beauty service industry. She has three planned drops on three different platforms.
The message she wants people to get from her work is to find your freedom, have the ability for acceptance and be genuine.
You can find Lem on Instagram at lem_ny.
Listen to the full podcast here!