Here at Chulo we wanted to showcase the creatives with a Q&A to dive a little deeper into the Artists inner workings - today we spotlight newest member, Naomi Vona.

Tell us a bit about what keeps your creative juices flowing, do you search for inspiration or does it come naturally?

All my works are directly part of my personal life experience. I like to create double meanings, play with words and I really love to quote songs, books or movies that I love. Lots of my artworks are titled and directly inspired to them.

Every artwork is basically composed of three elements: my life background, my inspirations and subconscious, that is also the glue that puts all together

My artworks are the perfect mix between my passion for photography and design. The fascination for the past is the key, the flashing colours are the portal. I like to imagine that I have an imaginary portal that brings me into the past every time I desire, and my artworks are the visual proof of my time travel adventures. Pop Art, Dada and Surrealism are the historic art movement that inspires me, but I also love tons of contemporary artists. I don’t have a preference among the artists, but I mostly enjoy collage artists, illustrators and photographers.

What's been your favourite project to date and why?

The most important project that I have worked on so far is definitely “Selling Lies”. It’s a visual project born in 2017, when I wanted to participate in the Instagram challenge "100 days project".
The idea was to transform entirely a fashion magazine into a visual diary, creating a bridge of communication between the meaningless ads and my personal point of view about the fashion industry. The final result is a personal, fun and controversial art project. This personal research is now an art class called "From Fashion Ad To Protest", where I encourage my students to create their own art journal using a fashion magazine. During the event I also teach my layered technique, giving advice and tips on how to manipulate existing images.

I have completed the magazine in 2020, and I entirely covered every page of it (boring ones included!). Now I am working on a new magazine and sharing the “making of” videos of each page in my Instagram account. I also enjoy the fact that this idea became a collective project, where my students are also participating in creating their own meaningful art journal using a found magazine. It’s truly satisfying to see so many people all over the world appreciating the idea and working on it with me :)

Tell us a bit about your process, do you start off searching for reference and sketching?

I always try to not think too much of what I am doing, I want that the picture in front of me helps me to find the solution to the rebus. I don’t know any of the subjects, so my fantasy is free to decide what to do.

Most of the time I use existing images as a canvas, so this is my main source of inspiration. I basically incorporate abstract patterns and colours on found images, reinventing their look and meaning (specially if they are vintage portraits).

What made you want to pursue a career in the arts and do you have any tips for up and coming artists looking to do the same?

I have always been an art lover - I did art high school and then the Academy of Fine Art in Italy. Eventually the school years path led me to build a career in the art field. I have to say that at the beginning it is really hard, so I always recommend that anyone want to start to have a “whatever” job during their first stage of their career. We need to pay the bills first, and art doesn’t meet these needs immediately. It’s a gradual progress in time, and it’s not a marathon as well. The important thing to keep in mind is to be constant, consistent and tenacious, and things will come in your way for sure :)

Check out Naomi Vona’s latest work here. For more portfolios from Chulo Creatives Artist stable click through here , also get in touch with Chulo Creative if you are interested in commissioning an artist for your next campaign.