Project 10 of 11
LIFT (a self portrait)
A self-portrait about endurance and support, expressed as a token-specific GBA game.
Project Thesis
A self-portrait built as a support system
LIFT is a self-portrait that goes past the image of me. It turns pressure, fatigue, public criticism, support, repetition, and continued effort into a playable system.
The visitor first sees a pixel figure holding up a rock. Underneath that surface is a token-specific Game Boy Advance game, a cast of supporters, a generated set of obstacles and items, physical game packaging, and a living record of people who complete the challenge.
The work asks the player to keep returning. That daily return is not incidental. The labor, the annoyance, the risk of failure, and the need for support are the artwork.
Playable Artifact
Each token can produce a one-of-one GBA ROM with its own generated character, supporter cast, scenery, items, and target duration.
Supporter Cast
324 people created two-frame 16x32 supporter self-portraits. Each token selects 20 supporters for that copy of the game.
Long Duration
A run is designed to last on the order of 30 to 90 days, with the player repeatedly lifting the rock and keeping the game session alive.
Physical Bridge
The release connects on-chain software to GBA cartridges, boxes, booklets, posters, embroidery paths, and handheld play.
Generated System
What each token contains
Each token holds far more than a pixel-art image: a generated cast, a live view, a game, and a path to physical output.
Pixel Man
Pixel Man is a long-running self-portrait doodle of mine: a small figure made from square pixels that has carried my identity for years.
Snowfro Character
The game expands Pixel Man into a more detailed Snowfro character with clothes, hair, facial hair, expression, and rare branches such as Zombie and Racer.
Detractor
Every game includes a generated detractor: a person in our lives who brings us down, with the awareness that the detractor can easily be ourselves. It can sit, walk, hang, or jump on the rock, increasing pressure and making the player's support less predictable.
Supporters
Supporters appear as part of the game loop. They can bring helpful or harmful items, which makes community support powerful but not frictionless.
Squiggle Worm
The Squiggle worm is a Chromie Squiggle callback. It appears unpredictably, can be captured with the B button, and ties LIFT back to my earlier language.
Prior Work Callbacks
Generated shirt graphics can reference ///, Heart + Craft, and Squiggles. They are visual easter eggs and have no effect on gameplay.
Gameplay
The point is to keep showing up
The game loop turns support into a repeated action. It is intentionally fragile: the player must keep the rock lifted, keep the session alive, and handle pressure from detractors, items, time, and interruption.
The Rock
The protagonist must keep a rock lifted. Left alone, the rock takes about 24 hours to crush the character. The fragility is part of the work.
Daily Lift
The player taps A to lift, roughly a hundred taps a day. Supporters and items change how that daily effort plays out.
Continuous Run
If the GBA, flash cart, emulator, or computer loses continuity, the run will be lost and must be restarted.
This is why actual hardware play and careful setup matter.Items
Items can make the run easier or harder: bear markets, hacks, energy drinks, fairy dust, and other autobiographical or community-coded events.
Countdown And Endurance
Countdown runs target the 30 to 90 day range. The game also describes an Endurance mode for players who want to keep going.
Victory
A successful run is meant to feel earned. What happens at the end is left for finishers to discover; this archive stays spoiler-free on purpose.
Supporters
A cast of 324 people
The supporter layer is what turns a self-portrait into a social system.
I asked supporters, collectors, artists, family, friends, and long-time community members to make small pixel self-portraits. Some people spent hours on them.
Each game copy includes 20 of those supporters. If the game is completed, the full cast can show all 324 animated characters.
On this site the supporters are a cast of people, with names and faces, and they get treated that way.
Meet the cast
The full supporter wall, token and supporter lookup, and the finisher record live on lift.snowfro.com.
Pixel Man / Post Params
The portrait keeps changing form
LIFT connects a long-running Pixel Man self-portrait language to Snowfro's expanded in-game character, then gives collectors curated ways to alter the live work.
Squiggle Splash Screen
The GBA game can open with a Squiggle and my signature. The default lead is Squiggle 1981; Squiggle owners can configure their own Squiggle through Art Blocks post params.
Portrait Mode
The live NFT can be set to a Pixel Man portrait/PFP mode. The Pixel Man can toggle between flat and 3D states, then return to the normal view.
Physical Layer
On-chain software made for handheld play
The physical layer matters because it clarifies the intended form: a game made to be picked up, played, and preserved.
Cartridge And Box
The physical package is meant to feel like a real Game Boy Advance release, not a generic display prop.
Generated Goods
Each token can generate its own physical components: box art, stickers, booklet graphics, posters, thumbnails, and embroidery outputs.
Intended Play
LIFT is meant to be played on real or emulated GBA hardware, ideally a real handheld with the cartridge in it.
Archive Bridge
How it connects
- Surface
- Pixel self-portrait / GBA game
- Deeper Layer
- Endurance, support, detractors, token-specific ROMs, physical game objects, and finishers
- Builds On
- Pixel Man history, Squiggle interaction, and physical translation
- Sets Up
- send/receive support, network language, and living data modules
Sources
Public source map
This page also draws on extended interviews with the artist. The public links below are the external anchors.
Official / primary
- Art Blocks collection
The official LIFT (a self portrait) reference for project facts and public links.
- Glitch Marfa LIFT essay
Curatorial framing and exhibition context for the work.
- Right Click Save interview
My own voice and interpretation of the project.
Institution / gallery / side site
- ZKM LIFT #147
Institutional record: collection or exhibition evidence and provenance context.
- Glitch 30 Days in Marfa
Curatorial framing and exhibition context for the work.
- Glitch OT 2: The Pixel Man
Curatorial framing and exhibition context for the work.
- LIFT side site
The project's own public side-site, with read-only context and tools.