Some artists answer questions, others reveal themselves. For this interview, Yusaymon did both. Instead of responding only in text, he transformed each answer into an artwork, creating pages filled with frantic marks, layered thoughts and the instinctive energy that runs through his practice. They read like fragments from a personal mythology, part memory and part prayer.

It is a fitting gesture for an artist shaped by scarcity, upheaval and a stubborn faith in creation. Long before the blockchain or a global audience, there was a child in Venezuela with a single crayon learning to turn chaos into meaning. That early need to create now travels across continents and screens, carrying the pulse of a life shaped in extreme conditions.

In this conversation, Yusaymon speaks through image and through word about the forces that formed him, the symbols that guide him and the digital art landscape he helped pioneer. What emerges is a portrait of an artist who does not simply share his thoughts, he turns them into objects that hold their own emotional gravity.

You’ve spoken about growing up in Venezuela in extremely challenging conditions and drawing with crayons from a very young age. How do those early experiences continue to influence your artistic voice today?

Scarcity, my most severe teacher, possesses the abstract and wild beauty of a demon. It is the cold that makes you shiver, the icy sweat, the uncertainty that whispers in your ear.

But within that fear, Venezuela beats with the heart of an apocalyptic celebration. It is a pulse of pure oxygen, blue sea, and a sun that embraces a people who smile bravely at the abyss.

Art, my first language, was the key to discovering ourselves in that struggle. It is the reflection of the path we have walked.

This is why, if you only have one crayon, but carry a universe of dreams in your chest... do not give up. Paint that bare wall. Paint it without fear.

You transitioned from traditional art to blockchain, based art around 2017. What was the spark that made you say “this is the medium for me,” and how did the blockchain change your creative practice?

In 2017, the crisis intensified. Hyperinflation emptied our tables, and a sudden dismissal ended 9 years of a job. The outlook was bleak.

It was then that a friend told me about Bitcoin and Steemit. I didn't see it as technology, at that moment. but as a chance to sustain myself through my art. (I always wanted to be a painter) Amid the collapse. Once again, art reached out its hand to save me. (Slothicorn) This was more than just a change of tools; it was a rebirth. From the ashes of all that was lost, a new path emerged.

Many of your pieces feature portraiture, a wheel and spoke motif on the forehead, and strong symbolism of the “sixth sense.” Could you walk us through how that visual language developed, and what it means to you now?

It emerged from "nothing," in the silence of my old studio. I painted it without a preconceived concept, guided only by a deep intuition that it held an essential truth.

An artist friend saw it and called it "your Buddhist wheel." That observation led me to explore the dharma, though I confess I still haven’t fully deciphered it.

Perhaps the wheel represents the idea of "believing in order to create," as Jesus said: if you had faith like a mustard seed, nothing would be impossible to you. Because faith transcends the physical senses. It is love, intuition, the present, hope, acceptance. It is everything that makes the wheel turn correctly toward an awakening.

The term “rescue” or “salvage” is often used in digital art circles when it comes to early works or platforms that no longer exist. Do you see your own practice as part of that archiving or preservation mission? If so, how?

Yes, but in an organic way. My mission is not to preserve the archive itself, but the spirit with which it was created.

If my work ends up as an obsolete file, so be it. Its value lies not in its format, but in being a testament to a unique moment: a grain of sand in the construction of a new artistic world alongside disruptive technology and a community of visionaries.

What I truly want to 'save' is that essence: the simplicity of the creative act, the faith in the new, and the proof that, even in uncertainty, one can build beauty. That is the legacy that matters.

You’ve described your journey as one from chaos to meaning, and your art as a conversation between internal turmoil and external form. How do you choose what gets turned into art, and what stays internal?

I choose from a visceral, not a rational, place. Over time, I have learned to shape that energy, but the initial impulse is always a cathartic need. I have vivid memories of the emotional states I was in when I created each piece; some emerged from an internal storm of desperation to free myself through the mark.

That is why I distinguish between who I am and what my art personifies. 'Yusaymon' is not Julio. It is not my totality. It is the crystallization of a childhood and adolescent catharsis; it is the voice of my past that is at once nostalgic, whiny, cruelly humorous, and, yes, a bit irrational and abstract. What becomes art is what needs to take form.

As a pioneering creator in the NFT, crypto art space since 2017, what structural or cultural changes have you observed in the ecosystem that excite you? What still concerns you?

I've witnessed this space evolve from a community experiment into a global ecosystem. What excites me most is seeing the technology mature into invisibility, finally allowing art and human connection to take center stage.

However, I'm concerned by a cultural trend towards extreme individualism and a lack of genuine dialogue. I see an influx that sometimes avoids collaboration, creating a friction born from misaligned interests. While natural for a growing ecosystem, it's a dynamic we must consciously address.

That's why my focus is on building bridges, not walls. I'm drawn to the paths not yet taken: painting physical murals, engaging those outside, and symbiotically connecting the cryptographic and tangible worlds. The future I envision isn't confined to the blockchain, but in weaving communities with positive, sustainable goals that enrich both sides of reality.

For the HASHD audience, many of whom are collectors, curators, builders, what do you want someone to feel or do when they engage with your work, both visually and conceptually?

My physical art exists on ephemeral sheets of cardstock that have reached Australia, Denmark, New York, Italy, Peru... This paradox moves me: a beauty that hurts, a forgotten child, an enraged adolescent, trapped on cheap material yet traveling the world.

More than a collectible piece, I want my work to be a mirror. A mirror that makes you reconsider your dreams or compels you to reach out to someone in distress. A subtle message, like a dropped napkin or a painted bill that says "DON'T GIVE UP."

Looking ahead, what are you most excited about? Are there new mediums, new platforms, new themes you’re exploring that you believe will shape your next phase of work?

Looking ahead, I am immersed in an experimental phase. Fusion and upcycling, creating sculptural forms from discarded materials like plastic bottles and heavy-grade cardboard, which I then assemble and transform into new entities.

Beyond the medium itself, I am thrilled to be reconnecting with my roots and this is a stage of exploration that is as much about upcycling and discovery.

Speaking with Yusaymon is a reminder that art is never just image or output, it is a consequence of a life lived intensely. His reflections move between hardship and transcendence with the same fluidity found in his work, revealing an artist grounded not in platforms or trends, but in a personal mythology built from intuition, faith, and sheer persistence.

As he steps into a new phase of experimentation upcycling materials, building sculptural forms, reconnecting with the earliest roots of his creative drive, his mission remains unchanged: to turn uncertainty into meaning, and to leave behind work that encourages others not simply to look, but to feel, remember, and endure. His journey is still unfolding, and the next chapter promises to be as raw and compelling as everything that has come before.

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— HASH'D (@HASHD_ART) December 6, 2025

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