Anael Lukban
Deceptively simple, yet deeply psychological, Anael Lukban’s paintings provoke the viewers to use their own imagination to find meaning.
Visually and conceptually unsettling, the deceptively simple paintings by Lukban play with the mind subconsciously. Executed in either a contemporary or pop-culture style, her practice involves the combining of differing motifs within the composition in order to psychologically provoke and unsettle the viewer.
A ghostly girl, staring towards the viewers with blood dripping down her face. The quiet and chilling atmosphere of a neighbourhood. Elements from our daily lives pieced together to reflect human nature. A lone flower, blooming brightly, alone, from the grass patch. The images are peculiar, strange yet somehow familiar, and surprising, challenging the audience’s perceptions of life and reality.
The painter equates art as the medium of communication, where such works can often tell audiences a story, leaving audiences to think or reflect on the reasons behind the artworks. She explains: “The kind of role I see for painting within a social context is that it can be a form of sending a message to a wider audience. Such works can be thought-provoking, a self-reflection and a take on problems we face in society that need to be talked about more.”
Born in 2001, Anael Lukban’s passion for art grew from a young age and remains as passionate towards art today. She likes to experiment and play around with mixed media ranging from traditional drawings, paintings and screen printing to the digital realm of photography and digital art. Though still early on her journey to become a professional artist, she has won the GAMMA.CON Art Competition in 2015, and has had her works featured in the Local Heart exhibition and the My Human Condition exhibition in 2018, and in 2020, the Postcards from Gungahlin online exhibition.
Her journey to find her own identity and style in art has only just begun. Her interests focus on ideas and concepts relating to identity, psychology, environment, dreams and the imagination. Artists whom she draws upon for inspiration ranges from artists on social media, to famous artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Caravaggio and Salvador Dali. Photographers such as Petrina Hicks, Gregory Crewdson and Loretta Lux. Not limited to only people, other mediums/trends such as pop culture, video games, music, anime/manga and films are also her sources of inspiration.
Two of her recent works, “Thread” and “Reflection” reflect her interests in both psychology and art, while utilising features found in pop culture and anime/manga. “Reflection” depicts a girl sitting in front of a mirror with her face smudged out. In psychology, this is related to as the “Mirror Effect”. By smudging out one’s face in this context, it essentially is a rejection of one’s self, the usual reaction when a person experiences extreme trauma; the shade of red further adds to this thought. “Thread” depicts the same ghostly girl albeit this time, we the viewers are looking at her. Blood is flowing down her face, a strip of red ribbon and a blood-dipped scissors dangling by her face; metaphors for suicidal intent. A similarity between both artworks is the stitching line that is present on the subject’s neck. This could be a metaphor of her being a soulless doll that is pieced together by people, able to be played around with, trampled on.
In both artworks, Lukban seemingly also limited the use of colour; using mostly pale colours and shades. The cold colours adds a sense of loneliness to the artworks, further provoking the viewers’ emotions and thoughts. As the artist stated herself, using colours that complement each other and the theme of the artwork, it is possible to add further layers of meaning: “The kind of skills I consider to be important in painting is COLOUR THEORY — this can go from creating different shades, knowing what colours complement each other, highlights and shadows. By learning this skill an artworks final product can look more polished e.g. create a sense of depth, draw in viewers due to the colours used etc.”
Both artworks are a prime representation of the outcome of Lukan’s interests and inspirations, in this case, psychology and art, spiced with a little pop culture and anime, making the artworks relatable to young people. All of her artworks are relatable to every viewers’ experiences, and every viewer are able to interpret their own narratives within each artwork. Nevertheless, this is only the beginning of her journey as an artist, and she is determined to find her own values within art: “Once you get into the rhythm you’re sucked into creating, in psychology this is called “flow”. I can lose track of time because I am so determined to make and complete an artwork.”