Prophylaxis
0xmj and @AlejandraHerEth first collaboration “Prophylaxis”.
We both have many memories with chess separately but now also together through this work. We met through NFT and admiration of each other’s art, and have found interesting similarities in the way we approach an idea to work on. Through this work, we wanted to show the harmony of our styles and experiences and the chaos of the mind in a game of chess.
Prophylaxis in chess refers to a strategy of making moves to prevent your opponent from taking an action. It is anticipating what your opponent is planning or could do and stopping it before This was one of my key styles as a chess player — ruining an opponent’s plan even before they can execute it completely. Limiting their options for making strong moves. Learning their strengths and strong pieces and aiming to remove it from the start.
This piece is around that strategy… On a chess board- we try to see what the other person is thinking from their perspective. We put ourselves in their shoes to see what we might not be able to do from our position. We try to understand them and their goals Similar to life, we make the best moves when we can go beyond our thoughts and perceptions and see from other’s eyes. We enjoy it when we understand the people around us. We see possibilities that were unknown to us if we remained in our assumptions.
While this explains the similar faces on the board. The glasses are broken. Implying that even if we think we understand our opponent or the player well, they can surprise us. We can never fully anticipate how strong their vision and calculation are. One of the humbling experiences, where we get to know that we have so much more to learn. Like in life, where our understanding of the other is incomplete. There is so much more people are capable of achieving that we didn’t anticipate. A battle of how far one could see and understand each other, including themselves. A game where we fight our bias, and accept our weaknesses to win the game. A vulnerable moment where we know the other person is analyzing all our moves too, and a brave moment where we are ready to shatter those assumptions.
Chess has taught me many life lessons at a very young age, the game on the board for me was an insight to understanding humans off the board. My chess works often represent these similarities between life and chess. Every piece is like a character we have played (as I shared through my Vibrant chess series) Every chess strategy is a lesson we could apply in the real world. Learning to understand people around us, and see from their perspective to win was a beautiful teaching from chess. Made me empathize with people and be more curious. Allowed me to accept when I wasn’t completely right about someone and quickly change my opinions based on reality instead of my idea of them.
