We had the pleasure to talk with the swedish artist Josephine Aune about her beautiful artwork.
Could you tell us a little bit about how you discovered your way into art?
A new chapter started when the lines came into my life in 2017, and from there I’ve followed my intuition and I’ve let the lines guide my path forward ever since. I believe that everything happens for a reason and the lines showed me something new to explore. A new way of living. It’s like my soul was longing to express myself in a new way and the lines were flowing through my hands. Trusting the process and letting go, following the heart and creating space for magic to happen. I’ve always loved to create and paint a lot as a child and I can see lines in old paintings from my childhood… so, in a very nonlinear way, just as life is, I found my way back to my essence, re-discovering art and my expression. And it changes all the time. To have the courage to listen to the heart and follow the intuition, to follow the passion and to trust the process and let life unfold.
How does your experience in the fashion industry impact or inspire your art?
I know that my years working in fashion paved the way for creating feelings and inspiring. In styling and creating fashion stories, I always wanted to portray and create a feeling of a real girl, a woman in clothes you really could picture yourself wearing in everyday life and draw inspiration from. I was very detail-oriented, but also liked to focus on the big picture while working at ELLE, and that’s the way I still am in my art and in life. It’s all in the details. I really put my heart and soul into everything I create, so creating art was another way of channeling my energy and creativity. The connections with other creatives in fashion and interior are a gift. Everything changes all the time and that’s true in fashion, life, and art.
How would you describe your artworks?
Feelings on paper, line language, dance, like line poems that create emotions. Simplicity, ease, calmness, harmony, beauty, freedom, soothing, something like jazz… To hear words from people who see and feel the lines is so beautiful, and what you see and feel in a line shifts. I’ve done a series called “Emotions” and I featured words I’ve received about my art in the catalog. The connection with the people who connect with me and feel drawn to the lines is so special. “…It’s like taking a deep breath,” says a part of a message from a man in Paris, or “It’s like music. Like a piece of classical music on paper.”
Where do you draw inspiration?
Oh, I draw inspiration from so many things for my art and also my whole life! Beauty is all around, we’re surrounded by beauty if we lift our gaze and start to notice even the smallest little things… Other creative expressions inspire me even more to be myself - everyone has their unique gifts to share. Art, people, books, interior, fashion, music, spirituality, and conversations. It’s amazing how connected we are with others if we slow down and take our time to really listen and connect on a deeper level. Taking walks, being in nature, and soaking up the sun, I’m very inspired by light and the beauty light reflects onto everything. I also love being in the water, swimming, and breathing. These things are a lovely way to connect and find inspiration from within. So many new ideas arise from that calm place… To pause, to ground me with meditation is a way of clearing and connecting from within to see what’s there. It’s a beautiful place if you tend and nurture your inner landscape.
Could you let us in on your work process?
My process is very intuitive and the lines are coming through me, often in a single, sweeping motion, like a dance, and the pencil stays connected with the surface. It’s like a language transformed onto the paper surface and I just follow the flow, which is where I lose track of time. A blank, beautiful piece of paper, and from there I’ll see and feel what wants to come through, flow through me at that moment. That present moment. It’s a meditative state, and the act of creating is a form of meditation for me. Sometimes, I’ll close my eyes, so it's a very intuitive and organic process. Sometimes creating for hours, or just for a brief moment, creating one or a few lines… I love the feeling of paper, and I carefully choose the paper I work with. Often I opt for handmade cotton paper or Arches satin paper.
Do you think each artwork connects with every person differently?
I truly believe that when you see your line just now, you feel it. The line speaks to the heart and soul in a very special way and I know every line is and will be where it’s meant to be. Everything contains energy, and when you see a line, you feel something special within you. It’s a part of me put on paper, and I feel so connected with all my artworks in a very special way, and the personal connection I have with people and who find their unique line is so dear to me. I’m very grateful for that - the personal connection and conversations before the purchase of my original artwork.
In your opinion, why do people find simplicity so appealing?
I can sense and see a shift now - people are slowing down and they have begun to listen more to their intuition and what the heart really wants. Quality over quantity. More ease and connecting with the present moment, really listening and taking it a bit slower. The longing for simplicity in a fast-paced
world with a lot of information, change, and impressions is a longing to connect within and to clear space for more authenticity. The lines can bring a sense of that simplicity, that stillness, and calm that’s very soothing for the mind and for the soul. If you look closely and also let yourself really feel, there’s a lot of harmony and beauty to be found in simplicity. We can explore our own emotions in that space and also, simplicity makes space for rest and creativity.
Photography by Fanny Rådvik
Josephine Aune's pieces are for sale in-store.