Interview with Sodoma Xia
SODOMA XIA (Sodoma X) is a 23-year-old and self-taught photographer and digital currently based in Berlin. (She creates works) about self-expression and self-acceptance. Most of her works are pretty dark, but it is just how she works to integrate into and embrace her Inner self and then maintaining individuality. Her works are infinite darkness. They are horrific but stylised nightmares. They are also reflections of her strong personality.Her works have recognizable high fantasy and satanic styles with extraordinary and provoking colour grading, sophisticated compositing, and exquisite details. They are emotionally provoking pieces, driving viewers into an infinite dark fantasy realm and making viewers forget reality.
'Weltschmerz' ( literally world-pain or world-weariness ) is the central concept of all her works. It is a literal concept describing the feeling experienced by an individual who believes that reality can never satisfy the mind's expectations, resulting in a mood of weariness or sadness about life arising from the acute awareness of evil and suffering.
German Techno music, Catholic elements, and Greek Mythology are the main inspirations. H.R Giger and Hieronymus Bosch’s works gives her visual inspirations. Her aesthetic is also influenced by goth and punk culture. Traditional photography and fascination with new technology are also of great inspiration to her who then challenge herself in manipulating various medias to combine this visually. The works in this exhibit feature a range of photography and new technology manipulation techniques, various types of processed colour grading and compositions.
Can you tell us about your early life and the moment or experience that first ignited your passion for art?
When I was little I learned 7 years water watercolour painting and sketching. I was always the one and only the best in the class. I’m naturally and born to be sensitive to colors and even able to make the complementary colors together harmoniously. Where I was born and where I was in my first 20 years are not important to me. I always like telling people I come from Mars until one day I make my information on my legal ID is Sodoma and citizenship is where I am willing to stay for my future 20 years, somewhere in Europe, UK or US. My mother was in the fashion industry, and she always dressed in stylish outfits that suited her style most. I loved going shopping with her so much. She has a really picky and outstanding aesthetics, which always catches all the customer's and staff's attention at stores. My grandma is Christian and I spent a lot of time with her when I was little, which influenced my aesthetics for future artworks. I also travelled a lot to Europe in my childhood and was fascinated by the paintings, sculptures, and cathedrals. I started photography by accident. However, I don’t like what the reality exactly is so I like editing pictures to something which is in my mind when I see the scenario. From 2020 to 2023 in London was an important period in my artistic career. I started to get into techno, which became today’s one of my most important inspirations. That’s the reason why I moved to Germany now. I also like the goth and punk culture there (UK before). I resonate with the culture and it influences my aesthetics and artworks.
How has your style and approach to art evolved from the beginning of your career to now?
In the beginning, I don’t have a specific and recognizable style. But I was clear about what aesthetics and cultures I definitely not interested in. It’s a long journey to discover and develop a lifetime style. It’s the deepest conversation with self. Creating art is not enough, live as an artwork in the mind. My works reflect myself, bold, wild, mad, crazy, unconventional and unapologetic, like fire. I’m also myself’s artwork, long blonde hair, skinny, pale. Devil forever. My look always confuse people’s perception of my personality. If there is a kind of animal to describe my personality, it should be some animal in beast genre. I almost only eat zero fat and zero added sugar yoghurt, fruit and water-boiled vegetables or salad, sometimes sashimi. I love black coffee, vodka, diet Coke and red wine which is like blood. Know what you are attracted to first, and then discover and absorb and filter everything around you related to it as much as possible. Because you never know what will inspire you unexpectedly.
What initially inspired you to explore the theme of infinite darkness in your photography and digital art?
Self-exploring. The parts of me are a deviation from the majority and social normal. For me, it’s a kind of aesthetic, a kind of mood, a kind of personality, which presents me from inside to outside. It existed before it had the literal name ‘Infinite darkness’. ‘Infinite darkness’ is just a name. The skulls, the fire, red and black, devil horns, etc all of these elements in my works I can also call ‘infinite happiness’. The happiness belongs to me. No matter ‘Infinite Darkness’ or ‘Infinite Happiness’; no matter photography or digital art, they are infinite reflections of myself, my interests, my inner world, my fantasy and how to interact with my surroundings and the outside world.
Can you walk us through your creative process when working on a piece that delves into the concept of horrific but stylised nightmares?
There is always a specific point which triggers me like lighting goes through the whole body. From this starting point, I try to find everything that can connect with this point. I find inspiration from other artists’ ‘stylised dark theme works’ as well, as from other creative minds. Deeping into others’ minds is an amazing process which can generate so many unexpected and new things that haven’t existed new things. But I like first-hand experiences more. I like doing ridiculous, unconventional, dramatic and unlogical things in my life and I also like seeing other people doing crazy stuff. I extend, twist, imagine, overlay, write and re-write in the mind. I dream and daydream. I’m a visual-driven person, which means when I get in touch with music, sound or literal things, they form pictures and visuals in my mind. So-called ‘Horrific’ and ‘Nightmare’ just because there are certain elements in most people’s perception they are ‘horrific’, however I’m not afraid of them. I quite like them. I am visually quite picky and judgmental towards colours, compositions, elements, shapes, styles and combinations and that’s why they are stylised.
What emotions do you aim to evoke in your audience through your dark-themed artworks?
I want to evoke infinite possibilities in emotions and always to discover unexpected emotional reactions. It’s always open dialogue. I want to drag the audience out of reality and to think and imagine infinitely beyond the frames. I only create the stories and meanings for a specific frame. What the audience thinks and how the audience feels from this frame as a starting point depends on their own experiences and minds. These dark-themed artworks may evoke some people’s undiscovered dark desires; may make some people feel uncanny; may remind some of them of a festival, a film, a dream, a song, a location, a city, etc. How you feel depends on what’s in your mind. On the other hand, it’s like: Welcome to my world and have fun.
Are there any particular artists, photographers, or specific works that have influenced your approach to this dark aesthetic?
H.R. Giger, Hieronymus Bosch, David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach, Michael Hutter, zdzislaw beksniski, Francis Bacon, Steven Klein, Alexander McQueen, Anna
Uddenberg, Simon Thaur, Mark Rogers, SNTS, 6EJOU, Klangkuenstler, etc. I get inspirations from various fields. There are so many works from these artists I like so much. I'm always looking for, discovering and absorbing new inspirations.
Could you discuss the technical aspects of your photography and digital art, particularly how you achieve this unique style in your images?
In terms of photography, I like using low shutter speed (motion blur) a lot. It distorts figures in the first hand. There are so many possibilities and unexpected things that come from this technique. There isn’t a specific setting which makes the best result. It’s all about spontaneity, sensitivity, experiences, experiments, and intuitions towards movements and lighting. I like side lighting (colour strobe lighting) from the back of objects in a dark environment. Also, I use some vintage digital cameras besides a main camera because sometimes they can create unique visual effects first-hand. I use the mobile phone from time to time as well. Digital art is more about imagination. Dare to imagine and be able to imagine, releasing all the craziness. It’s a playground. I combine photography and digital art together, starting from reality to infinite fantasy.
Does the theme of infinite darkness hold any personal significance to you, and how does this influence your art?
It’s a part of myself, my personality, and my aesthetics. ‘Infinite darkness’ transforms into various forms in my art. The tones of colours, objects, details, etc. Explicit ones or not explicit ones. I’d like to present ‘infinite darkness’ in a beautiful and memorable way.
How do you find audiences generally respond to your dark-themed art, and has this reception influenced your work in any way?
People who like dark-themed things enjoy it, while those who don’t like dark-themed elements judge it. Just like not everyone likes horror movies, skull jewellery, doomy tones, etc. And many people question the color aspects of my art. They offensively assume that I’m good at manipulating colors because of chemical substance influence. While I’m just naturally sensitive to it. I even challenge myself to combine contrary colors which I don’t like to make them look harmoniously as well. If you are really good at something, then try to make it to extreme. However, no matter whether they like it or not, it’s me and this is how my art works look like. I won’t change to please anyone. I only attract those who are like-minded and who like it. My artwork is not for everyone.
Winning awards is a significant achievement in any artist's career. How has received this recognition impacted your approach to your art, your future projects, and your view of your own work?
It is always an honour and pleasure to win awards in my career. I really appreciate the opportunities, recognition and people who bring me so much inspiration. They motivate me to go further and continuously push the boundaries of my artwork. It is just the beginning and there is still a long way to go in my artistic career. Now when I look back at one year or two years ago’s artworks, I can already find that I have developed a lot. There are infinite possibilities in the next 5 years, 10 years and 20 years. Awards recognition is one aspect and I gradually started to pay more attention to the financial aspects associated with an artist's career. Also, I haven’t stopped looking for new and more powerful partnerships and collaborations which can push my career further at the current stage.
