𝑩𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝑮𝒂𝒚 𝑪𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏: 𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝑭𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒂
A couple of days ago I shared some insights on the term avant gay https://x.com/matto__matto/status/1962679386764665009… and how it captures a loose but vital movement bubbling up on Solana https://x.com/Sonoflasg/status/1961558716987355390… What’s clear is that this isn’t just about NFTs or aesthetics... 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎 𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛.
One of the contributors to this movement is @jimspindle, the artist behind Little Fellow and Scarecrow. These projects caught my attention because they embody two things I love: the culture of PFPs and the world of art. I asked him a few questions and his responses highlight why the avant gay scene feels different.
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑆𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑎𝑠 𝐻𝑜𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑢𝑠
For JS, Little Fellow isn’t just a character or a brandable PFP template.
It’s an inner self. A “homunculus.”
“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘳 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴.”
This ambiguity, somewhere between puppet and passenger, gets at what PFPs can be when they move beyond modular “Mr. Potato Head” aesthetics. Little Fellow isn’t simply an arrangement of traits. It’s an attempt to create an avatar that feels vulnerable, uncanny, alive.
𝑨 𝑫𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝑻𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓
JS is frank about PFPs. He calls them a “debased genre.” But his goal has been to prove that even within that genre, there’s space for emotional impact. He points to Milady and Mifella as projects that achieve that tenderness. Works that in their own way feel poignant and intimate.
This ethos is echoed across the avant gay canon. From Little Swag World’s playfulness, to Drilady and Drifella’s campy inversions. Each brings its own flavour, but all share the drive to create avatars that feel emotional, ironic and strangely alive.
𝑵𝑭𝑻𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝑴𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝑮𝒂𝒎𝒆
Perhaps JS's most powerful insight is about the nature of NFTs themselves:
“𝘕𝘍𝘛𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦… 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴… 𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵.”
That’s not just an observation about Solana. It’s a reframing of what art looks like when it’s native to blockchains. Instead of static objects in white cubes, these are living entities co-authored by holders, memes, and communities.
Figureheads like @bis__cut, @supermetalx and @CreamyDreamy have amplified this multiplayer spirit, whether through prolific production, community provocation or relentless experimentation. Together with JS, they’re shaping a lineage that feels unmistakably Solana.
𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒚
And then there’s the secret. Little Fellow hides a literal, discoverable puzzle within the collection:
“𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵.”
It took over a year before anyone noticed. That act of embedding hidden layers (playful, simple, but also profoundly connective) feels emblematic of the avant gay scene, where camp, irony, sincerity and mystery all overlap.
𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝑺𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒂?
When asked “why Solana,” Spindle doesn’t point to liquidity or institutional adoption. His answer is simple:
“𝘛𝘰𝘫𝘪𝘣𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯… 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯.”
It’s a reminder that culture often follows vibe before infrastructure. Solana became the playground, and avant gay grew out of that.
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝑻𝑯 𝒗𝒔 𝑺𝑶𝑳 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒎𝒂𝒏
Some critics have argued that Solana’s avant gay scene is nothing new... that trait maximalism or schizocollage aesthetics already flourished on ETH and even trad art. And they’re right... to a point.
𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦. ETH’s eccentric projects existed, but they were drowned out by the noise of PFP hype, oversaturated generative art, AI art... Solana provided a new stage where those instincts, queer, intimate, irreverent, could crystallise into a movement.
It isn’t about who did it “first” (you'd have thought we'd learned by now 🙄😭). In this instance it’s about what happens when culture evolves 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑙. Adjacent but independent, shaped by different economic and social contexts. On Solana, negligible fees, fast minting and a sense of fun created a space where the avant gay could flourish as its own canon.
To say otherwise is not critique, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑡𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓.
𝑻𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝑨𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝑮𝒂𝒚 𝑪𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏
JS resists easy categorisation. He doesn’t theorise about movements or ecosystems, preferring to stay, in his words, “myopic.” And yet, Little Fellow embodies so much of what makes avant gay art compelling: selfhood as mask and mirror, play and tenderness in equal measure, and a deep awareness of NFTs as social games as much as visual ones.
Alongside Little Swag World, Drilady, Mifella, Drifella, Squishy Drifters, and the many works by Biscuit, Bosch, Parker and others, Little Fellow belongs in the story of how Solana incubated one of the strangest, funniest, and most culturally resonant movements NFTs have yet produced.
If ETH has historically hosted the monumental and the canonical, Solana might be remembered as the chain where queer play, irreverence and tenderness found their avant-garde.
matto (@matto__matto): imo the solana underground identifying as "gay" is a great filter to alienate both the fragile homophobic bros terrified of being seen as gay AND the purity police
A useful joke that stuck. x.com/Sonoflasg/stat…
