Website : https://www.eiwaarts.com/
Etsy shop : https://www.etsy.com/fr/shop/EiwaArts
Instagram account : https://www.instagram.com/eiwa_
Email : eiwa.arts@gmail.com
Telephone: 06.31.86.16.67
Behind “ Eiwa ” we find Eva. She lives in Lille in the Hauts-de-France and creates canvases with oil paint and small acrylic paintings. She evolves in a dreamlike and esoteric universe.
She is passionate about art and literature. Moreover, she combines the two to create some works full of meaning but also quite mysterious. For example by adding small pieces of torn pages, poems, calligraphic texts to her artworks.
In life, her passions are art, literature, culture in general (especially the Asian cultures) and mythologies.
OJL: Hello Eiwa .
Eiwa : Hello.
OJL: Four quick questions before getting to the heart of the matter.
As you live in Lille, can you tell us what your favorite coffee is there ? And what do you like to drink there ?
Eiwa : I don’t often go to the city itself. But I like the “Wilderie” because it is a very peaceful place. I also like “Le dernier bar avant la fin du monde” because it is a legendary place for any fan of fantasy / sci -fi and other legendary series and games. I am personally neither a “geek” nor a “ nerd ” as one some can say nowadays. Since I developed an interest in these universes very late. I finally read “The Lord of the Rings” and it was one of my best reads. Now I just have to watch “Games of Thrones” (laughs). And who knows, maybe I too will start wearing my best cosplay every day (laughs). But my interest is only in fantasy . I’m not a fan of sci -fi at all.
Otherwise when I go out , I drink some tea or some coffee.
OJL: And what is your favorite park or place ?
Eiwa : I like the space around “Notre Dame de la Treille”. There is a very good atmosphere there.
OJL: Next, what was the last book you read? And the last song you listened to ?
Eiwa : _About the book: “Solitude” by Anthony Storr.
_About the song: “Be Yourself” by Audioslave .
OJL: Finally, do you have a quote and/or proverb that you like ?
Eiwa : “The basket that swings above the abyss, and common sense tell us that our existence is only a brief flicker between two eternities of darkness” by Vladimir Nabokov in his work “ Speak Memory”.
OJL: Let’s talk a little about you now. How could you introduce yourself ?
Eiwa : Every time someone asks me this, the first word that comes to mind is “dreamy”. I think this word could be confused with naivety. Yet he remains what he is.
I am a person who only accepts living each day if it takes the path of her dream or where her heart guides her . It’s quite simple:
I dream of being an artist, so every day I create.
I dream of escaping, of another world, so I create it.
I dream of feeling emotions, so I look for them in words, discussions, music, films.
I dream of living for a moment in an ancient time, so I immerse myself in a reading, a film, or studies that will give me that feeling.
I am a person who wants to feel above all else.
OJL: Who are the professionals who shaped you? Who struck you down? In a few names and why.
Eiwa : I have always been passionate about the Renaissance art, whether Botticelli or Michelangelo. I love big names and great art as it has been called, because I have a real fascination for the beauty. But gradually I learned to discover other more recent artists, like Clay Happer, Jake Baddeley, Annie Stegg , whose aesthetic sharpened my art. Yet, strangely, it is mainly through reading that my art is created. One of the founding books of my creation remains “The Metamorphoses” by Ovid. This book is a proof that the human mind is capable of imagining everything to talk about very real subjects and values, without having a boring rationality.
OJL: How did you choose your pseudonym ?
Eiwa : It just started from my Latin classes when I was in middle school. The “V” does not exist in Latin, it is pronounced like a “W”. So when I had to find an artist name, strangely, this distant memory struck my mind, and I found that it resonated perfectly with my art.
OJL: Let’s talk a little about your work now. What are you creating ?
Eiwa : My art mainly consists of large canvases of oil painting. In a dreamlike, fantasy or gothic universe.
My personal touch consists of adding to each canvas some pieces of some torn book pages, poems, simple words or even calligraphy.
My whole life revolves around reading , so each work that I create necessarily comes from a text that inspired me at some point. And I want to make people feel the same emotions that I feel when I read a text. It’s visceral. It’s enjoyable.
OJL: You also created an oracle called “Oracle of Feminine Archetypes”. Can you tell us the genesis of this project?
Eiwa : I was in a somewhat transitional phase of my life… And in all these uncertainties, I found a real comfort, one can even speak of « guidance », by immersing myself in the study of the “Sacred Feminine” and the numerous goddesses from all walks of life.
In a society where we are pushed, especially as women, to have only one personality, one career, one « functioning » as if we were all identical machines, I found it a shame and even fragile to be be satisfied with these labels. I have gone through many trials, I have experienced all the emotions, and I consider myself today, with pride, as an owner of some multiple personalities.
In reality, especially as women, we can change completely from morning to evening, overnight. We display dozens of archetypes in a single being. And it can be extremely liberating to learn about them and to be able to rely on these figures. This oracle explores the history of many goddesses, or major female figures, from all cultures and religions, showing both the fragility of certain emotions but also their forces, or how to use them to move forward, how to listen to them, understand them, feel them, and transform them to move forward. Today my visuals and my technique have completely changed, so sometimes I look with a grimace at this oracle which I find “filthy” from an aesthetic point of view (laughs). But the messages it displays, its richness, continues to serve as a daily support for me. Despite this small critical detail, I am very proud to have achieved it. And I consider it as a valuable tool for any woman wishing to discover the infinity of her abilities that she can represents and embodies.
OJL: How can you define your style ?
Eiwa : As I said, I consider my personalities to be multiple, so the same goes for my art (laughs). It can very well be soft, dreamlike, luminous. But also very dark and mysterious.
OJL: What techniques do you use ?
Eiwa : My favorite medium is oil. Otherwise I also practice acrylic, pastel, watercolor and ink calligraphy
OJL: Can we place you a personalized order ?
Eiwa : Oh yes with joy !
OJL: That’s good to know. Can we subscribe to your newsletter/newsletter? Because social networks are a bit saturated… Eiwa : Not at the moment but it’s a good idea to consider !
OJL: Do you have a story about creating one of your products ? Or one of your sales ?
Eiwa : Something really touched me one day during a small market. You should know that my art also touches a lot on mental health. And I never hide it because I believe that my art is my story and vice versa.
I was exhibiting a work representing a mermaid climbing towards the light, and a young man came to see me to buy it. He felt very touched, and explained to me that he was a medical intern, and that he had just finished an internship, where he was confronted with many sick young girls, and he could feel exactly their hopes, their dreams, the story of their life through this painting. As the discussion progressed, we realized that these young girls were patients suffering from anorexia and hospitalized where I myself was unfortunately hospitalized several times for this same illness. Thus, without even wanting to, my art was able to transcribe the suffering but also the hope of young girls who had to go through the same sinister corridors as me. It was very moving for me to be confronted to this revelation.
OJL: Mental health is a real subject indeed. Last question. You definitely have friends who are doing amazing things! If you want to promote them a little, now is the time !
Eiwa : With pleasure !I would like to cite two:
_ Nahdim : who does illustration and digital painting : https://www.instagram.com/sloth_does_art
_Luna : who designed a comic strip around mental health. The story presents the adventures of a ghost: https://www.instagram.com/thecryinghost/
OJL: Bravo for what you do. May Our Lady protects you.
Eiwa : Thank you.
Selina Kyle
