The artist and designer Vanessa Nawka Leschke, born in 1982, studied Visual Communication (Diploma) with minors in Painting and Sculpture at Pforzheim.Vanessa views the process of creating art as a kind of metamorphosis, where her artwork undergoes various transformations. She begins with hand-drawn fineliner illustrations (which cover various themes and forms, from abstract characters to realistic jungle illustrations featuring imaginary birds) that she digitizes and transforms into colorful, abstract digital images.
For her sculptures, she uses an iPad to create minimalist 3D figures whose white color reflects purity and truth. These beings carry golden spheres that symbolize the burden of the world as well as fertility and transformation. This apparent duality-based opposition allows for multiple interpretations and creates a close connection with the viewer. The figures are then placed in fictional, imaginative, and unreal environments using another 3D program, which gives them a habitat and a home.
Vanessa views her artwork as something alive that changes and evolves over time. She uses digital technologies to transform her sculptures into breathtaking digital worlds and make them virtually experiential for the viewer. Thus, the artwork is also usable in the metaverse, which is reflected in VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality), making it immersive even in reality. Her goal is to establish a connection between the physical and digital world and encourage the viewer to blur the boundaries between these worlds. By creating new beings, Vanessa aims to inspire the viewer to look at the world around us from a different perspective with curiosity and feel a deeper connection to nature.
Vanessa's artistic process is characterized by intuition, metamorphosis, technology, and curiosity to find new ways to bring the artwork to life and further develop it.
Vanessa's goal is to inspire the viewers - or rather users - to feel as if they are surrounded by another living world derived from nature when exploring the artwork. She wants them to be inspired to experience and observe the world around them from a deeply connected perspective with nature while exploring her artwork.
My illustrations are drawn by hand. I work with fineliners, creating abstract geometric shapes and figures, as well as plants and birds. The empty white spaces are filled with special patterns, giving them a truly exceptional liveliness. These drawings serve as a foundation for me to further develop and transform them digitally, creating new large-scale abstract images.
To enhance my artwork, I draw inspiration from photographs of Hydra to extract unique color palettes that I incorporate into my pieces. The resulting artworks are vibrant and dynamic. In addition to illustrations, I also delve into sculpture creation. I start by sketching my sculptures on paper, which then evolve into watercolor drawings.
To breathe digital life into my sculptures, I use my iPad to bring them to life in Blender, a 3D software. There, I animate them and integrate them into a digital, abstract landscape. This process creates a captivating fusion between hand-drawn elements and digital art, expressing my artistic vision.
In addition, I create augmented reality filters so that art enthusiasts can bring my sculptures into their homes, no matter where they are in the world. Even my illustrations can be brought to life through augmented reality.
