Ariel Xie

How long have you been painting? Why do you paint?

I’ve been painting about two or three years formally, and maybe three to five informally, all things considered. To me, art is a form of expression, a way to release my emotions and academic stress. As I do more and more with academics, I also do more art. Now it feels like I’m doing more art than academics!

Would you give some background on your piece “Fallen”?

I think the meaning here is very explicit. This is an image of a fallen angel, though it was originally a portrait of one of my friends. However, due to the complex emotions I felt towards them, the portrait became something else entirely. When I see people, I can visualize them differently, as symbols of different emotions.

Can you tell us more about your piece “Strange”?

This one is an older work. It’s about the release of screaming, about the part in each and every one of us which yells out. At the time, my friend, who had been diagnosed with depression, had just begun a new medicine, which cleared up a lot of her symptoms. This made me think about the biological approach to art, and in this piece, I’ve tried to capture that part of us, like cells, that scream for release.

Your work “Flow” depicts a cephalopod, our main theme for this issue. What went into creating this artwork?

When I hear the word octopus I think ‘smooth’, ‘underwater’, and also about the state of unconsciousness. I also think about jellyfish. An octopus is a creature which exists in the dark, but jellyfish also live in a similar place, and yet have no consciousness at all. They flow in the current, like humans who just respond to music without thinking. This state of unconsciousness is another method of thinking about art. I listen to music when I paint sometimes, as I did here, but if the emotions are strong enough, and I’m being honest with myself, I can’t listen to music.

Whose work has influenced yours? Do you have any artistic idols?

Francis Bacon and Salvador Dali have influenced me a lot.

Where do you see your art taking you in the future?

Art is linked with philosophy, psychology, and the general exploration of the world. Art will never leave me, it will be a part of me forever, not as an outside element, but as a part of my life. I think looking to far ahead in the future is impossible, but I know this.

Do you have any advice to young artists?

Only this: express what you see in the world from your eyes and mind. Observe the world with your physical eyes, and then observe your emotional and inner self with your mind and inner eyes.