We speak with cosmic artist & illustrator; Nina Zube.
The London based artist caught our eye and imagination with her graceful and divinely artworks, which she describes in her own words as...
"Inspired by ancient cultures, myths, astrology and all that involves experiencing life in a more magical and cosmic way"
You can visit her website & store at: www.ninazube.com
& Instagram: @ninascosmicart
Read on below for our exclusive interview with Nina Zube...
So please tell us, where did your journey into art begin?
I believe that we’re all born creative, but many people lose touch with their creative force over time. That is why I consider myself lucky because my family always supported my curiosity with art and also music. I grew up playing several instruments, I loved photography, drawing, and writing, but I equally loved playing on my computer – which is funny to admit. I’m an Aquarius, hence electricity plays a big part in my creative process.
What artists / movements / ideas have inspired you the most and why?
I cannot name a specific person who said it, as it is so universal: Live from your heart. That’s my guideline to everything and I guess that is why we love art so much. Artists remind us to live fully and with passion, they inspire us to live by our truth and dare to be different. And an artist’s work can create a lasting bond with the viewer –this is where it also exceeds time and space.
When it comes to the artists that inspired me most, one of them is definitely Joan Miró. His soul had such a gentle, yet bold and colorful language. Also, he was said to have been a kind and humble person, which I value a lot. Miró was part of the surrealist movement back in the 1920s and the ideas and beliefs that were formed during this time truly resonate with me. Suddenly, people were interested in exploring the invisible, the subconscious. It seems to me, that people learned again to trust their intuition and let it guide them in their creative process.
Nature also played a big role for many artists back then, which led to forms and shapes becoming much softer and fluid (I am especially thinking of the work by Henry Moore). In my work, I subconsciously use a lot of soft shapes. But I am also fascinated by the work of Hilma af Klint. Her work was deeply spiritual and far ahead of her time. She used art to document everything and in the end, she left us a roadmap for understanding this world and beyond. I loved that she spoke about angels and other beings guiding her – something that I can relate to a lot.
What is your personal relationship with spirituality and how does that inform your creative practice?
Spirituality to me is being in the here and now. And this is one of the hardest things to be as a human. But I am trying to observe my thoughts rather than judging them and this is already a big step forward. It helps me focus on the things I actually care about and not waste time on negative spiralling. It helps me see the beauty around me more clearly and to be grateful more easily. I’ve noticed that since I am no longer worrying as much about how things should be, they flow much more easily. Whenever I do feel stuck, I often call in for help from my guides, angels, you name it. I am a big believer that anything is possible.
Tell us about your fascination with the esoteric and ancient knowledge?
I guess this fascination roots from a longing to understand myself. There is so much mystery within us – just like ancient civilizations were mysterious. And it does help to look back to our roots in order to better understand why things are the way they are. Something as mundane as the names of our weekdays roots back to ancient times. Monday for example is the day associated with the Moon – no wonder we often lack motivation on that day. If the work-week was to start on Tuesday, which is associated with Mars, our inner warrior/passion would be activated much more (Tuesday = dies Martis in Latin).
There is so much ancient knowledge and wisdom out there that it is hard to grasp it. But what I find most fascinating and inspiring is the fact that people back then lived in much more harmony with the cosmos. They looked up to the sky in awe. The sun, moon, and stars were seen as deities and it was their cycles that let people understand time. They did not take themselves too seriously and believed in gods and higher powers.
Death was much more present in their daily life, especially in ancient Egypt and I find the culture around it simply mesmerizing. Today, we have lost touch with death so much that many have not ever seen a dead person in their lives - me included. When elderly people die, we often cannot say a proper goodbye; everything is hidden from us and all that is left in the end is an urn to say goodbye to. No wonder people are scared of death and cannot see the magic or beauty behind it.
Where did your interest in cosmic art and astrology come from?
I think it was an inevitable process for me to dive into astrology. When you’re interested in mysteries, ancient cultures, nature, spirituality, mythology, then astrology is something that will eventually come up. I just didn’t expect it to blow my mind as much. I still remember myself sitting with friends two years ago and telling them that I don’t necessarily believe in astrology but that I find it fascinating that it dates back to the beginning of human culture. A year later I find myself surrounded by plenty of astrology books trying to decode my own birth chart. And it blew me away and still does. How is it possible that our moment of birth can contain so much information?
The older I get, the more I can feel my birth chart unfolding, chapter after chapter. But of course, astrology should never be seen as fate. It is a cosmic potential and you decide how you want to act it out. Also, astrology develops and changes with us – we need to remain open-minded about new understandings and ideas and go with the time. To me, astrology is simply a wonderful tool & language that can only enrich your life. Its purpose is to remind us to live in harmony with the cosmos, to honor the seasons, and to understand that we are all interconnected. When I started creating art, I just went with the flow. I want my art to free my mind. It is never supposed to make sense, rather I hope it touches your heart.
In the beginning, I was obsessed with ancient Egypt, then, because of my partner’s heritage, I became super interested in Greek mythology and hence, astrology. In the meantime, I started writing this language of mine that in the spiritual community people call "light language". It is a unique language that I believe everyone has and I just kept exploring it. You could also speak it, dance it, whatever – it is just about trusting what’s inside of you. It also is like revisiting a past life when writing it. I don’t know what it means, but it has so much meaning to me, it goes beyond my mind’s comprehension and that’s what I love about it. These days, I create light codes simply for my art and also for people, because they want to get it as a tattoo.
You can discover more of our interviews here.
- PSYCHIC GARDEN