Ayshe-Mira Yashin — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

Sep 12

Sep 12 Ayshe-Mira Yashin

Biography

Ayshe-Mira Yashin is an 18-year-old illustration artist from Istanbul, Turkey, and Nicosia, Cyprus. She is based in London, England, and is an art foundation student at UAL (Camberwell). She is of Jewish and Muslim heritage, and is a practicing witch. Themes of the occult and spirituality are often incorporated into her art, one of her most recent projects being the Sapphic Enchantress Tarot Deck, a tarot deck representing queer and femme bodies, exploring divine femininity. You can find the tarot deck, as well as her other zines, handmade notebooks and art prints, on her independently managed shop, or on Etsy (see links below). She is currently working on an illustrated poetry zine, to be published by Zines and Things (Portland, OR) in 2022. Her art has been exhibited at The Holy Art Gallery (Hackney, London) and at M. A. D. S. (Milan, Italy). She was awarded the Power of Creativity award (by Contemporary Art Creator Magazine) in 2021.

Artist Statement

I work primarily in the medium of fine-liner illustration, because ink on paper is the medium that I connect with most. My art is largely tied into my spiritual practice; here, I used lines and patterns to represent waves of energy. My art exclusively depicts women and non-binary people, using the absence of men to carve out a safe space for sapphic intimacy, which is so often underrepresented in the arts, especially visual art. Pursuing art professionally was more of a natural conclusion to my love for art and my artistic practice than a conscious choice. I am drawn to art especially as a means for my activism; though it is not always direct or explicit, I hope that the feminist, body positive and intersectional themes of my art can evoke feelings of positivity and warmth in those who often feel underrepresented in art. Also, I am very interested in art as a spiritual practice, with art magic being one of the forms of spellwork I regularly partake in within my pagan witchcraft practice. My art has also been a noteworthy aspect of my healing from trauma and from my eating disorder.

Website/online portfolio/shop: https://www.ayshemira.com

Etsy: @theillustrationwitch
Instagram/TikTok: @illustrationwitch
Facebook/Upwork: Ayshe-Mira Yashin