For The Love of Colour, and Imaginary Ones

Growing up, we used to have this fan-like chandelier that housed four different bulbs. The bulbs were of different colours-blue, green, red and yellow. Electricity wasn’t stable and we only had power once maybe twice a week. A standby electric Generator wasn’t what we could afford then and what this meant was that these bulbs only lit up twice a week for an average of four hours each time we got electricity. 

We were a family of seven, my mum and dad inclusive; My sisters and I made up four of those; and we would choose colours whenever the bulb lights up. At first, we stuck to our favourites but as time went on, we began to choose these colours based on who first called it, and it became a fun game to play whenever we had light. 

As a child, I was attracted to green colour. I loved red too, but green was my go-to colour. I got green coloured dolls only, and of the four colours displayed on the chandelier we had when I was a child, I would only stare at the colour green. Sending me on an errand as a child was frustrating for my parents, as I might notice a particular shade of green on the grasses around and forget about time just staring at them. I thought it was the most beautiful colour, and it gave me joy whenever I look at grasses and they are all green.  

No one understood my fascination with the colour green, and I would cry when my Christmas clothes came in any other colour. Of course, my parents ignored me. Afterall, they have 4 more children to worry about. It wasn’t that they didn’t love me. It was just that my colour preference wasn’t one problem they were willing to be bothered with. There was something calming about looking at any shade of green for me; a certain tranquillity that I'm finding difficult to put into words. 

As I grew older, my obsession with the green colour started to fade. Adolescence came with so much challenges that I wasn't totally prepared for and somethings had to give. The colour fixation faded slowly, much like how day slowly turns to night. Other things were so quick to take its place; my developing body, peer pressure, the boys I was crushing on, the struggle of getting an admission into the University, and my parent’s divorce. By the time I got into the University, my colour obsession had become likened to nothing more than a child’s complex. 

Adulthood certainly didn’t care that I once had a childhood colour craze. It also made sure that I didn’t revive any old ones or try to form a new one; Basic necessities and an improved lifestyle were the only cravings I allowed myself. Being a graduate and working to make ends meet meant that I had to pick colours that are easier to pair and much more accepted in a corporate setting; Slowly, almost every item around me (clothes, house decorations, and such) were predominantly black, grey, navy blue, and white. I’m not much of a fashionista, so colour combinations aren’t one of my strengths. When I’m asked my favourite colour, I blurt out green, but the look of surprise on people’s face already says it all- there is no way it’s green! I mean, there is almost nothing of that colour around me (apart from the grasses, of course).

So, why the story? 

On 11 January, 2022, Imaginary Ones came on Twitter to announce that they were having an NFT drop. I would get to know about this from the retweets of several accounts that I follow on the platform. I checked it out, and I of course followed. Since there was not much details about the drop on their page, I decided to follow the Co-founders. Over the course of a week, they had managed to have a following that was the envy of many NFT projects.  

Somehow, I still didn’t get what the NFT drop was all about, until I came across a tweet by David Lee, ImaginaryOnes Co-founder. He tweeted: 

‘We hope that owning our art reminds you to play, dream and smile like a child again. What was something you loved doing, but you had to give it up because “reality hits”? Find that spark again.’ 

Thinking about this tweet was tasking. I already found the art alluring, but connecting with it, the way the founders would want people to associate with it, required me to deeply think about a childhood dream I’ve always had, and that wasn’t easy. The waves of emotions that came with the thought process wasn’t something I had planned for, and it took me days to finally realize, that the life I’m living now, is the dream that adulthood allowed me to live. It isn’t bad, but it certainly not my childhood dream. 

The first thing that came to mind after a deep reflection as to what my childhood dreams were, was my love for green colour. Rediscovering that was like, a wave of cool breeze that hits you on the beach just as the sun is setting. I know this is a bit of an odd thing to dream about, but the green colour is that ‘spark’ of my childhood. However, this time, I’m not letting go of this spark. Neither am I going to choke it out by getting everything ‘green’ that I set my sights on. I’m going to slowly get these items; from jewellery, to bed covers, to couches in the sitting room, to cocktail dresses. I will gradually and consciously infuse my childlike spark into my adult environment. 

Having a connection with a particular piece of art doesn’t happen often. The ImaginaryOnes(IONs) Art drop can speak to you, if you let it. Most importantly though, even if you cannot get your hands on any of it (there are only 8888 of it), try to truly think about David Lee’s statement that I quoted above, and find something that revives your spark again. It would make the dreams of the founders come true, and it would definitely make your world a better, happier place. 

You can learn more about the ImaginaryOnes NFT drop on Https://twitter.com/Imaginary_Ones

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