After globetrotting photographer Ilan Derech’s journey through the COVID-19 pandemic turned into a story of human kindness and interconnectedness that ultimately transcended borders and cultures, he has since gained a reputation as a cross-chain NFT artist, creating what he calls a “compelling fusion of street photography and cinematography.”
Born in Mexico in 1990, Derech says he is influenced by visual storytelling and his work evokes the feeling of a cinematic experience, focusing on capturing the candidness of everyday life, creating scenes that almost slow down time.
Working with brands such as Leica, National Geographic, Air Canada and Sony, as well as being a global ambassador for ZEISS Camera Lenses and VIVO Telecom, Derech’s story is an inspiration to collaborators, fans and the companies that support his work.
His latest release on OpenSea, Ichi-go Ichi-e (or “一期一会”), which translates to “one time, one meeting” or “only this time,” is inspired by the concept of “cherishing the unrepeatability of things” or a moment, and was shot in Tokyo in 2021, suggesting an introspection found in a single second.
“My work is about the whole moment feeling like a small world,” Derech tells us, “It’s very important to convey the feeling of the mood and environment.”
Next, Derech describes his process and shares more about his journey as an NFT artist.
OpenSea: Your work tells stories about fleeting, irreplaceable moments in life. What is your perspective on time and how does it influence your work?
Ilan Derech: The rhythm of time has become so relative at some point that I can’t remember what day I’m living in, I don’t know what time it is, which is crazy because I think a lot of things that we were used to, like traditional school and traditional schedules — you get up at this time, you eat at this time — that taught us a specific schedule that I feel worked back then and it doesn’t work now.
I don’t know if people still realize this, but web3 kind of removes the limitations of space and time and it’s just… you live in this nonstop thread because everyone wakes up and goes to sleep at the same time, right? And when you’re interacting with people, as soon as people fall asleep, someone else is already awake, so, it’s a nonstop thing and it’s hard to get out of that cycle because you know you’re missing out.
OpenSea: How does web3 and the concept of “no limits” influence your attitude towards art?
Ilan Derech: Now, more than ever, I feel like we have to curate how we spend our time, we realize we have a certain amount of energy because certain activities drain all of our energy, and I want to be mindful of how I use my time, who do I want to talk to? Who is most important to me, who am I most important to? It's not about having meaningless interactions with other people.
I remember discussing in an interview that before all this I used to go to meetups and random events that were more like entertainment filler in my life, but with the advent of web3, most of my time has been spent on things I actually care about, and as a result, my real life interactions have decreased because it doesn’t seem to make sense to me anymore. It’s not about art, collecting, crypto, or web3, it’s about the joy of participating in activities that encompass all of these factors.
OpenSea: How has the pandemic impacted your web3 journey? Tell us how you got started with NFTs during such uncertain times.
Ilan Derech: For me, this experience was different than most people trapped by COVID-19 because I was traveling intentionally during the pandemic. I didn’t initially think the coronavirus would be a major problem. In December 2019, I left my home country of Mexico and began traveling around Asia. As I was traveling, the pandemic worsened, and every time I heard news that things were escalating, I would move to the next country. My work involves documentary photography, and I would take photos and then, after hearing more news, move on to another country.
In India, the situation became dire and the government advised all foreigners to leave. Unfortunately, my card was rejected on my flight due to SMS verification required by Mexican banks. Luckily, a photographer friend exchanged lenses for my flight from India to Japan. I planned to only stop in Tokyo for two hours for a connecting flight, but then, borders around the world were closed.
OpenSea: Wow, Tokyo is your new home?
Ilan Derech: Basically yes, we were initially told to stay for two weeks, but after that we were told the severity of the pandemic and that we had to stay, I stayed in a hotel and since most tourists had left, the hotel graciously opened its doors to me, I spoke to the management about my situation and they were aware that the lockdown was being extended and understood that without their help I would be homeless, I had been travelling for a long time and was running out of funds.
They generously allowed me to stay as long as I could afford it, even if it was just a dollar or ten. The hotel couldn't provide the usual level of staff and service, but they made sure I had a roof over my head.
OpenSea: Well, it’s certainly been an unforgettable way to build a new home for yourself. Three years later, you’re still in Japan. Do you think you’ll be here for a long time? Is there more you want to explore artistically?
Ilan Derech: After that, my stay was extended to nine months, during which time I used the hostel's bikes because I was broke and had nothing else to do except learn the language and explore the country. I always had my camera with me, however, I had to sell my lenses before, so I didn't get to take pictures. I became very active on Instagram, sharing my stories, and the brand of the lenses I sold noticed and generously sent me a new lens as a gift, but they didn't just send me a lens, the company's staff also prepared a box of daily necessities and groceries for me.
OpenSea: Which company is that?
Ilan Derech: Zeiss, sometimes when a company ships something to you, it can have a very distinctly corporate feel, you know? But in this case, there was a distinctly personal touch, and the package had ziplock bags with homemade masks from my family, assorted groceries, and Japanese desserts, and people were sending these because they knew I was having a hard time eating, and I was only eating once a day due to financial constraints, and they included post-it notes like, "Oh, we hope you're feeling better, this is a really tough situation, and we all wish you the best! Keep doing what you love." When they gave me the lens, they said, "We know how much you love what you're doing, and we hope this helps you have a better time in Tokyo."
OpenSea: You also met your wife during this time, tell us that story.
Ilan Derech: We met through a dating app, she was looking for a photographer to shoot with and hang out, not date, her profile was very clear about that and that was attractive to me because I wasn’t in the right place to be in a serious relationship, we matched on Tinder and we went out and I shared my life story and I looked like a backpacker with a long beard and she looked super pretty and dressed up, and after our first outing we ended up eating sandwiches by the river and I realized I really liked her.
A few weeks later, even though my travel plans were still uncertain, I asked her to be my girlfriend, and eventually, she invited me to move into her apartment, and I like to say that I was like a stray dog that she adopted, and she took care of me, fed me, supported me, and everything, and I was walking out of the hotel and doing digital art at the same time and into this relationship when I started to get into NFTs. It was really cool, because she works in the tech industry, so when I mentioned NFTs, it was also a natural understanding for her, and she naturally accepted the concept of NFTs and cryptocurrencies, and we came to a very cool agreement, she worked for the company and earned fiat currency, and I worked full-time on web3 digital art, and we earned our life savings in crypto.
OpenSea: Great, you once said that there are cities that are good for daytime and cities that are good for nighttime, and that the lights of Tokyo are best for photographing at night. When did you start thinking about photography in this way?
Ilan Derech: I remember in art school, we had a class on chiaroscuro, and they talked a lot about the beauty of not showing the beauty of darkness, and I’ve always believed that art is more about what you don’t show than what you do show. It’s like dating—if you tell everyone everything about yourself on the first day, people will get bored with you, so you have to constantly be flipping things on their head and keeping this mysterious appeal to things.
For me, night is part of it, at night, there are so many things that we can’t see, and having that part of the unknown and the isolation makes things more fascinating, and also, you could say, I have a condition where I’m very sensitive, so, during the day, the light actually hurts me, which has prompted me to shoot a lot at night because my eyes feel like they’re full of sand in them, so, it’s painful, and at night, not only do I feel better, but I can see more.
OpenSea: Which inspires you more, portraits or landscapes? Because the city itself seems to be a very important subject in your work as well.
Ilan Derech: It's really hard because a lot of my job is... I like not having any expectations, right? When I go out, I don't even really plan what I'm going to photograph, I really want to get out one day, explore, get lost, and unfortunately a lot of that is because I lost my dad a few years ago , you know, I think we all have a plan for our lives, we all think we're going to do something, buy a house, have kids, but in this day and age, we realize that plan doesn't work.
It’s really, really hard, especially in web3 where everything is so fluid and different that it’s hard to be sure what’s going to happen, so I adopted the idea of slowing things down — just adapting to what’s going on.
OpenSea: Do you have any upcoming releases, collaborations, or projects you’re excited about? Anything you want to tease?
Ilan Derech: Well, I’m really lucky because I have a waiting list for my work, so I still have a lot of work to make, and I’m really excited because this year is all about growth, and it’s all about traveling around the country and making all these one-of-a-kind pieces for the people who have commissioned me to make these dreams come true.
So, for me, I think the most exciting part is that I know exactly what I have to do, I can be a little bit more strategic, I can be a little bit more mindful of each one and take my time, and once you solidify yourself as an artist here, you can confidently say, okay, now I can actually work in a more human way. That's really, really pleasing to me, there are a lot of collaborations going on that I can't really talk about because they haven't solidified yet, but yeah, there's a lot of things that are going to happen this year.
OpenSea: Where can people follow you?
Ilan Derech: My Twitter, like anything to do with web3, everything goes out from there.
OpenSea: Ilan, it’s so inspiring to hear your story, I really admire your work, thank you for taking the time today.
Ilan Derech: Thank you very much, I really appreciate it.
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