Would you agree that art is a form of spiritual activity? That whether you’re the perceiver or the creator, art has the capacity to speak to your soul? Our featured artist would answer ‘yes’. She believes art serves as a cathartic release for all. The intent behind her work is a reflection of this release. More specifically, it is a reflection of her own release. When she creates, it is not for others, rather it is to better understand herself. Say hello to visual artist, Thais Aquino.
Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aquino began her artistic journey working as a graphic designer. She wasn’t fulfilled, however, and couldn’t channel her creativity sitting down and looking at a screen all day. Unhappy and unable to embrace her artistry fully, she made the brave decision to step out of her comfort zone and move to New York in 2015. She studied Fashion New Media at Pratt Institute and began to take photography more seriously, not allowing fear to hold her back from pursuing her passions.
In our interview, she speaks on the importance of honoring one’s vulnerability both as a creative and an individual, and how it was her own personal introspection that led her on a path to meditation and enlightenment. In her opinion, when people open up and shamelessly admit their fears and desires—accept who they are, that’s when the magic happens. Even with her subjects, she wants to feel their vulnerability through the lens. She is more interested in capturing the subject’s presence, their soul.
She also talks about the value of learning how to say ‘no’. How knowing and setting boundaries maintains creativity and spiritual alignment. Aquino’s pursuit of spiritual awakening plays a huge part in her creative process. In fact, she uses photography as a medium for spirituality. When asked how she ties the two, she says “images can release something profoundly emotional and get you vibrating in the same frequencies as others who have been exposed to that sound or image; and so does spirituality, especially if you think that it comes from the sacred principle that everybody is connected to everybody.” She wants her work to create new emotions within people and have people question what it is their feeling.
Ultimately, Aquino wants to use her artistry to further the “evolution of consciousness”. She argues that connectivity and compassion are the keys to evolution.
Can you describe your creative process?
Intuitive. I develop my art practice as I develop my intuition. Literally speaking, my creative process starts with an unapologetic screen of the person or project I am shooting, followed by a check in with my personal library of creative thoughts (subject, lighting, locations, body language) and from there I start an elimination process of ideas that won’t work for a specific project, and by eliminating them I create space for the law of attraction to take over. The whole process is a manifestation of whatever is going on with my emotional self, and it has a lot to do with exploring creativity by visiting unknown parts of myself. As a graphic designer, I was trained to create mood boards and get inspiration from other artists, Pinterest or Instagram accounts. It took me a few years to realize that in order to keep my creativity healthy I would have to find a different way of connecting with my inspiration. There were dark times where I thought I wasn’t a natural artist. That changed once I started going deep into meditation practices.
I started to receive messages, visions and gain tons of clarity that helped me understand the artist within me and how to dance the dance between my true inspiration and my creation. Today, the way I conceptualize and art direct my projects comes from participating in sound baths. I let myself go deep, get silent, and witness what can be in terms of colors, light and composition. It’s quite simple, I close my eyes and invite color, forms and movements to take me on a journey. Often I have to cheat during the meditation and sneakily activate my mind and my thoughts so I can connect the dots and apply the visions I am receiving for an upcoming project. Sometimes that kills the meditative flow, but it’s one of those things that’s worth doing. It’s quite juicy when mediations take me to the source of my creativity. It’s a trip! I am pretty familiar where my aesthetic likes to hang out and sound meditation has been gifting me with visions and insightful creative ideas.
You say that you don’t create for others, rather you do it to better understand yourself. Can you elaborate?
When I am shooting I am in the flow. There is not much thinking. It is really when I start editing and narrowing down the photos when the magic happens. The photos I select are a pure expression of the way I want my art to be seen, or at least it shows where beauty stands in my art. When I say I don’t create for others, rather to better understand myself, I am confessing self-love and deep admiration for who I am becoming in this world. At the end of the day, when you end up with a dope shot, what you really end up with is a feeling of ‘I’m so proud of myself’. It’s almost like a self-love practice: I am creating for myself and practicing compassion for my feelings and difficulties. I have to say, I also use my art to heal uncomfortable feelings. All my self-portrait work comes from moments of agitation and depression. Some people go see a therapist to help them feel better, I go lock myself in a room and start shooting my movements and self-expression. By letting my body move freely I understand where I am caught up. I get to know myself and my body so deeply by prating self-portraiture. It has been a great medicine and it helps me to work with others and direct people in photo shoots. I am so grateful to have crossed paths with other creatives that truly trust me and let me do whatever the fuck I want with creative direction. When I am creating, I am dancing with my subject, we are in synch and it is always a co-creation, a reflection of each other, we’re bouncing around and at times mirroring each other’s energy. But when I get to sit down with the images and choose my favorites that is when my heart really screams out loud and I get to understand myself and others better. Most of the times when I share a collection with a client and let them pick selects they will pick different photos, and that has to do with whatever is going on in their heart, mind and life at that specific moment, I don’t take it personally. It is not my business, not my story, not my karma.
Why was it hard for you to embrace your creative energy fully in Rio?
Lack of hope in the social environment. Tired of trying to fit in where I don’t belong. I am a strong believer that the path to liberation is to heal old wounds. In Rio, I was nothing but all those wounds, a karmic baggage of ‘teenagehood’ trauma accumulated and trapped in one body. I wasn’t able to see the truth within me. I was distracted trying to please others, healing a broken heart, upset with the socio-economic situation Brazil—I had not yet found my tribe; I didn’t know who I was. I still don’t know who I am supposed to be in this lifetime, but getting away from my home town, family, old friends and routine opened up a new bright window of possibilities. In Rio, I was often encouraged to follow whatever everybody else was doing. No one inspired me, but at the same time, I thought everyone was better than me. It was sad. The culture in Rio did not even speak to my heart. But listen, I get it now. It was just all a reflection of my stuck self, longing for freedom, but lost in a million distractions. Thank god I had the courage to leave it all behind and say ‘Hi’ to my true self. Hope is key. Liberation is the goal. There will be light.
You want to use your creativity towards the “evolution of consciousness”, what do you mean by that?
I want to help reduce suffering in the world. Reduce pain. Reduce trauma. I am not an activist or politician or teacher or influencer, whatever. I believe that art can help raise awareness and awake compassion within us. Compassion is key for evolution. Connectedness is key to evolution. I think an image can take you on an inner journey and activate your imagination and new emotions. Similar emotions can be felt by the collective, and the energy created in that moment generates connection and synchronicity. The world will breathe better when people are able to become compassionate and develop a deep connection with their purpose. I believe we all have a mission, but we forget what that mission is the minute we are born, and we spend the rest of our lives longing to be whole again. Modern society calls it ‘fulfillment’ and we are all struggling to find that. If we collectively recognize that, we can raise awareness and return to the source. Sorry if it sounds too mystical, but this is the reality for me, and if I can use my art to help wake people up to that, I will. I get it, it’s a long, long journey, and at this point, I learned to be selfless enough to understand that I might not see major results while still alive, but I will be honored to have contributed to the healing of future generations, to infinity and back. No surprise the trendiest thing to say now in the spiritual world is “we are the future ancestors”. If you meditate on that, you will find fuel to keep evolving.
You speak on the importance of honoring your vulnerability. What does honoring your vulnerability mean to you?
Honoring my vulnerability has a lot to do with the ‘being in the moment’ practice. A bunch of inner work and self-healing had to happen for me to start to understand the value of vulnerability. Crying when I need to cry and loving it. Having compassion for myself before having compassion for others. Accepting whatever emotions may arise. Understanding the perfection of it all even in moments of despair and depression. Let’s be honest, every artist has felt the fear of being judged, rejected… but failure is part of our path; it’s the only way we can grow. I feel once you decide to bring your vulnerable self to the surface you immediately start to honor it; fear starts to dissolve and courage starts to take over your body in an uncontrolled way. Yes, protection is important, but damn, when you are free and confident enough to just live in that vulnerable realm is when the magic really happens. You are able to risk more and be there for yourself. When you accept who you really are, and confess all your fears and deep desires, is when you are one step closer to liberation.
You connect photography with spirituality. How do you tie the two together in your work?
I am an aesthete; I drink in beauty. When people ask me what kind of photography I do I just tell them I photograph whatever I find beautiful. Beauty and art come from the heart. Therefore, beauty and photography became a meditation for me. Just like music, images can release something profoundly emotional and get you vibrating in the same frequencies as others who have been exposed to that sound or image; and so does spirituality, especially if you think that it comes from the sacred principle that everybody is connected to everybody. Art has the same power to connect a group of people and build community. I am slowly walking away from the volatile commercial photography and walking towards really bringing spiritual practices into my work. Another way of seeing the connection between my work and the spiritual world is to go back to one of the first lessons: learn how to say ‘no’ to clients that I don’t believe in or to project proposals that weren’t aligned to the better good of my work. Saying ‘no’ to money, or to what seems to be an opportunity, is hard and painful, but so are the boundaries you need to establish once you are on the spiritual path. These days I only start projects that are coming from the heart. Linking my work with my spiritual path has brought so much abundance and significance to my art. The day I understood that art can use energy and vibration (image) to bring a sense of peace and purpose (spirituality) was the day I rediscovered my intention with art, and I fell in love with photography on a deeper level.
What does your art represent?
The rescue of our inner divinity. In a whimsical way.
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Interview by Rahel Tekle