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1. Only for the first months of 2008 you have scheduled almost 20 Exhibitions. In 2006 you had almost 30 and in 2007 over 50. Do you ever ask yourself why people like your art so much? Oh course I do. The interest in my work beyond an aesthetic interest comes from how easy people relate to it. Although blunt and in your face, my work leaves much room for the viewer’s interpretations. I could be way off the mark, but this is what I have gathered from all the people I have met, and all the comments that I have heard over time. 2. Aunia, how do you find time to do everything? Tell me the truth... do you ever sleep?? Sleep, who needs it?! Yes, I do sleep. There are times I get less sleep than one would like, but I try to keep a balance with everything I am doing, and especially making sure I am getting necessities like sleep so I can keep up at the same pace. 3. You're one of the directors for the project "Darkest Dreams a Lighted Way" that is exposing early works from artists who have been abused, to help other victims. You have labeled yourself an abused artist who suffered a lot. Do you feel like explaining? I am the only director, creator and curator of the project. I would love to give credit to Washington University School of Medicine for helping to inspire this idea when I was involved in the 2007 MOHOP (Mental Health Outreach Program) Emancipation Art show. This program brings artist together that are suffering from a mental illnesses and gives them a chance to show their art, and possibly be on a panel to discuss such topics. I showed work and was on the panel last year, and I will be again this February. Seeing hope in many of the artists eyes who suffer from something so debilitating as extreme cases of mental illness encouraged me to start the annual exhibition, “Darkest Dreams a Lighted Way”, which also not only deals with mental illness, but abuse which can go hand in hand. We also have the wonderful Celebrity Artist Michael Bell as a guest artist this year. 4. You, unlike many other artists, are very active on beneficence and volunteering. You're helping abuse victims, you're fighting against women discrimination and you're fighting against violence to animals, a theme that unfortunately often gets forgotten. What is pushing you to do it? You could just work on your projects and earn money, but still you find lots of time also to help others. Why? If you are not using your gifts to better the world, and yourself then why even have a gift. I have worked hard to get where I am and it is paying off, not only for me but for things that I believe in. Since gaining popularity and support I have been able to use my art and voice as a way to generate money and bring awareness to causes like AIDS, Cancer, Domestic Violence Awareness, Animal Rescue, and much more. 5. In your art you mix paint, graphics, photography, digital art, illustrations and everything else crosses your mind. We can thus define you a "hybrid" dark artist. What do you want to tell people through this hypnotic mix of art media and what do you feel when you're creating? Oh I am somewhere in a far-off land when I am creating. It is hard for anyone to talk to me, and sometimes if I get interrupted I can get agitated. I am so in a zone, and locked into my head that I am sure I must be visiting another space in time. Sometimes I feel good; sometimes I don’t, but either way the emotions run high when I am creating. 6. Can you tell us something about Afterchain? Now that you're so busy with art are you going to take another break or will you surprise us again with new songs and videos? Afterchain is my solo electronic/industrial music project, which was started in 2000. I don’t spend as much time now as I did a few years back with taking the time create. It is a very strong love for me, music in general is something that has always been with me, and when I create it, much like my art, it really brings something alive inside of me. I opened for Android Lust in August 2007, and I am looking to do some more shows in 2008 around my very busy exhibition schedule. I am just a one-woman show, so it takes a lot of effort. 7. The "Silver Era Tarot" project is absolutely innovative news. You managed to mix poetry, visual arts, deep meanings and historical images in a 78 cards set. Could you explain to our readers what is it all about and why you decided to start working on this field? I fell in love with tarot cards a long time ago. When you look at tarot cards, especially the first 22 cards it’s all about a life’s journey. Needless to say I thought how fitting the work that I did could be morphed into a project of such consistence, symbolism and dedication that it was just calling to me. The deck itself is a fully functional deck based on the original Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) interpretation. The Silver Era Tarot deck is done all in black and white with a hint of color. It was a labor of love. 8. Another great mystery on which you could shed some light is the book "Dante Dahl", on which you're working with Wolfgang Lehmkuhl. Would tell us something about it? I was told that he would cut off my left leg if I gave away any details. So I leave you with this, it is an integration of words and art between the two of us that is in creation currently and will be in the hands of the public in the future. 9. How is it going on "The Dead and the Dreaming" set? I've read it's a graphic movie, so do we have to expect a "Sin City" movie, only with a bit more horror? And why is it divided into episodes, do they have some point in common so that they all end up going to the same direction or they are just different stories in one movie? We haven't made it to the set yet. We're still in the development and financing stages of the production. The film will be live action, a healthy mixture of black and white and color imagery, but far more realistic in tone than Sin City. The film is divided into eight stories, which are all connected thematically, and some characters reemerge in other stories. We’ve created a very memorable cast of characters; some hilarious, some grotesque, and mostly both. More tales of these characters will be told in the upcoming series of comic books. 10. If you should make an evaluation of your career from the beginning to today, would it be a positive one? Yes it sure would. Every step of my journey has been fulfilling to me in some way or another. Not everything is always present, but everything we can learn from. I am happy to have taken each step to get to where I am today. 11. Do we have any chance of seeing you in Italy in 2008? I'm afraid there won't be many Italian readers who can come and see your exhibitions in the States!!! I would love to. If there is an opportunity to do so, I am so on it. |
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