Say hello to Andrea Wan! She is one of the four Canadian artists who created work for our “Afterlife” project with Poketo.

Hello Andrea, where are you right now?

I’m sitting in front of my glowing rectangle at my semi-messy desk.

You and I both got our degrees studying film at Emily Carr and I’m doing nothing film related at the moment, do you have plans to make a film? Maybe an animation?

I don’t have plans to make a film at the moment but I’m open to working with all kinds of mediums and projects. I have a lot of respect for filmmakers, because I understand how difficult and time consuming it can be. Making another animated film would be fun, but it would be even nicer if I have someone to help me on the actual animation part!

I loved that animation you made in school! I guess I asked because when I look at your drawings now I like to imagine what sounds would accompany them.

I’ve never heard anyone say that about my drawings before but that’s an interesting way to look at it! I think if my characters have sounds they’d whisper… with their voices overpowered by the sound of the landscapes.

Was your time spent in Denmark what really developed your drawing style?

I’m not sure either…it just happened while I was there. I think the change of environment and lifestyle naturally influenced my way of seeing things and my drawing style. Being bored and alone also helped with creativity.

What were some of your favourite books growing up?

I was always drawn to illustrated books when I was a kid – I liked stories by Roald Dahl, Where is Waldo, and a series of amazing books about the human body by Genichiro Yagyu. I also remember reading a lot of choose your own adventure sci-fi/mystery books.

Do you listen to music while you work?

Yes.

What kind of music?

Depends on my mood. I like all kinds of music but especially shoegaze, new wave and post punk.

Who are some of the artists that are influencing you now?

Recently I’ve been looking at art that has a raw or naive quality. Some of the artists I like are Misaki Kawai, The Bambam Collective, Yosuke Yamaguchi, and my friend Peter Larsson, who makes amazing animations.

Do you ever write stories?

I always find writing difficult…maybe that’s why I chose to draw what’s on my mind. When I was a kid my favorite thing to do was recording improvised stories on cassette tapes. These stories usually involved animals having conversations while going on a journey of exploration, accompanied by a theme song I made up at the end. I still have a big collection of these  tapes at home and I’ve always wanted to do something with them.

I am going to force you to let me listen to them the next time I’m at your house. Can you talk a little bit about your thought process making the artwork for this wallet?

Lately I’ve been interested in drawing a lot of ghosts, horses, snakes and people with masks. It’s a mix of different associations from my personal experiences, but some of them also fit well into the theme of afterlife. When I worked on the wallet, I imagined these creatures from the underworld coming out from the water and then hiding their spirits in shells on a beach. They live in the shells until they’re ready to move onto their next lives.

Would you consider yourself a spiritual person?

In a way I am. I’m very much into learning about myself through investigating my dreams and subconscious.  I often have very vivid dreams and I see them as messages sent from myself with my gut feeling. Similar to dreaming, I like to create art that is immediate and honest so that it helps me discover more about myself during the creative process.

What’s next for you?

I’m currently preparing for a solo show coming up this Fall at Catalog Gallery in Vancouver (Oct 7 – Nov 7).

To see more of Andrea’s work, head over here.

To see the entire Poketo x Booooooom “Afterlife” series go here.

Now I’m gonna give away one of Andrea’s wallets! If you’d like to win it leave a comment below with an encouraging message to Andrea! I’ll pick a winner on Monday!