In describing his work, qubibi (Kazumasa Teshigawara) said, “Ultimately, the output is the process itself. That’s what makes my art mine.” This is a unique and special thing about qubibi’s work “Mimizu.” Unlike many other generative art projects, Mimizu has been released continuously for over two years now, all using the same code base. It’s a longitudinal release of work where the more there is, the more fascinating the work becomes. The origin of “Mimizu” are present in qubibi’s “hello world (2017/2010) short version” video from 2017. It reveals more about the work than the still images of “Mimizu” do on their own. “Mimizu” was released on Hic et Nunc, an NFT platform that expanded rapidly in early 2021. The unique thing about Hic et Nunc (HEN) (Latin for “Here and Now”) was the ease and autonomy in releasing work. Artists were able to post their own work and to make their own decisions about the edition sizes and pricing. The design of HEN as a decentralized system allowed artists to release work in a new way and for collectors to support those artists in a new way as well. Tensions between the founder of HEN and others led to it collapsing, but the Teia community rose from the ashes. While the final “Mimizu” in the original series were released through Teia in 2022, other works in the larger series have been released in other exhibition spaces, both online and in brick-and-mortar galleries. When I first saw “Mimizu” coming through the Hic et Nunc feed in early 2021, I was immediately drawn to it. I didn’t have any context. What was it? Who created it? In an interview, qubibi described a film by Dušan Makavejev as a blend of the “sublime and the grotesque” which I feel is also an apt description of his own “Mimizo.” I couldn’t say it any better. It feels dark, elegant, and beautiful at the same time — looking deeper is always rewarded with this work. — Casey REAS