Frida Pini

Photographer: Juliana Paulos

You discovered digital art during a period of physical limitation. How did that unique circumstance shape your artistic voice?

The enforced period of rest and the associated suffering was the trigger for my art and my style. I was completely confined to bed for several months after each operation and completely immersed myself in my fantasy world. I painted for up to 14 hours a day and was thus able to escape the pain and the standstill.

I dealt intensively with my inner being and my emotions. Looking inward instead of outward helped me to discover my own diversity. My art became an outlet to visualize my inner world and manifest it in pictures.

Suffering shaped my passion for my art. In German, this is even reflected in the word itself: “Leidenschaft” combines suffering and creation. My operation in March this year was certainly not the last, but I have learned to make the best of every situation. I believe it’s important to live life in the present, not sometime in the future when supposedly “everything fits.” Beauty can be found almost everywhere, you just have to look closely.

 Frida Pini | Introvert

Many of your works reflect surreal and emotional intensity. What role does emotion play in your creative process?

Emotions play a central role for me. Almost all of my image ideas originate from or are inspired by a specific emotion. I am deeply interested in the topic of emotional diversity: the more emotional nuances we perceive, name, and explore, the richer and more stable our inner “ecosystem” becomes. This not only helps us to process negative feelings better, but also strengthens our emotional stability.

As an introvert, the pandemic therefore had a special significance for me. While many suffered from social isolation, I found the quieter, subdued atmosphere in Berlin to be a relief. Nature was able to recover. Small things like fewer people in stores or at the checkout meant that, because of the increased distance, there was no one breathing loudly down my neck or overwhelming me with perfume or sweat. That was actually positive for me. This experience gave rise to the work “Introvert”: The seashell in it symbolizes protection and retreat, a place where one is not overwhelmed. I only recently learned that I have autistic traits, which helps me understand why too many sensory impressions bother me so much.

The same applies to “Out of Space,” which arose from feelings of loneliness and “non-belonging”, as well as to “Stranger.” However, these works are not intended to encourage isolation, on the contrary, they are meant to give courage to all people who feel like outsiders.

In German, we say “merkwürdig” when we find something strange or weird, but it actually means “des merkens würdig” which means “worthy of note.” Diversity, idiosyncrasies, and different perspectives are valuable. They enrich our coexistence, just as emotional diversity enriches our inner lives. Many who were considered outsiders in their youth (like myself) later develop into unique personalities, like a caterpillar that becomes a butterfly.

Frida Pini | Out of Space

You often combine digital prints with physical materials like neon acrylics, gold leaf, and resin. What inspired this hybrid technique?

Some of my fine art prints are further developed by me into unique pieces. Post-processing adds depth, and with gold leaf or silver accents, I create a special brilliance that gives the image a precious quality. Strong colors play a central role and by adding accents with neon acrylic, I increase their intensity even further. Finally, resin creates a mirror-smooth surface that makes the work look very high-quality and special. I am currently experimenting with a variety of combinations of different materials to create new symbioses and emphasize the uniqueness of my work.

Frida Pini | Stranger

How do you choose your color palettes, which are often vibrant, iridescent, and dreamlike?

My color palettes are created from a mixture of observation, symbolism, and inner images. I like to draw inspiration from intense color combinations found in the animal world, such as those in the book ”Color Inspiration” by Papier Tigre. For example, the dazzling contrasts of a three-colored parrotfish or the intense patterns of a gaudy clown crab. At the same time, the meaning of colors plays an important role for me. I am particularly drawn to purple: it stands for mystery and spirituality, but also for emancipation, equality, dignity, self-determination, and solidarity. Purple can also represent loneliness, the meanings of the color are very complex and contradictory, which fascinates me.

Strong, bright colors fascinate me because they make a work of art shine and give it something distinctive. Muted tones do not fit my idea of an eye-catcher.

My lucid dreams and fantasy worlds also flow directly into my color choices. That’s why I like to work at dusk or at night. In that special moment when reality merges into dreams, the most vivid color combinations emerge for me.

Frida Pini | Man Eater

Your paintings seem to explore themes of power, femininity, and vulnerability. What do you hope viewers take away from your work?

With my art, I want to evoke emotions and make visible what is worth protecting. Recognizing different feelings simultaneously broadens our inner spectrum. I want to inspire people to look more inward and consciously engage with their own emotions. This is the key to better coexistence, to more consideration, tolerance, and also to standing up for the weak.

People with high emotional diversity also experience negative feelings, but they feel less overwhelmed by them because they have learned to consciously reflect on them.

My work “Caged Heart” takes up this idea: it reflects society’s expectations of women, how a woman should be, and the associated feeling of constriction. The heart is trapped in a golden cage, a symbol of the constraints that still determine how a woman should be. The restrictive clothing considered feminine underscores this and leaves little room for individual ideas and needs. At the same time, the golden cage represents the apparent appreciation associated with these traditional ideas. Ideas that are still accepted today by both men and women as if they were “goldrichtig” in German, which literally means “right like gold”, absolutely correct.

Frida Pini | Reverse Abusement II

You’ve collaborated with musicians and are gaining media attention. How has your audience responded to your art so far?

The reactions have been consistently positive and often very diverse. My works are interpreted in different ways. Some see them as imaginative, nerdy, or feminist, while others emphasize the feminine side or the surreal elements, which allow for many different interpretations. I am particularly pleased with the feedback from artists and musicians whom I greatly admire and with some of whom I have already collaborated. Their encouragement is a great confirmation and motivation.

Do you see your art as a form of activism or a tool for social reflection?

Yes, definitely in some of my works. In “Animal Liberation,” for example, I show pigs fighting back against their exploitation with the help of an animal rights activist and burning down the barn. With this image, I want to draw attention to the violence in the animal industry. Pigs are highly intelligent, smarter than dogs. But the ideology of carnism allows us to distinguish between domestic and farm animals without questioning it. They are not commodities, but individual personalities whose lives are short and marked by pain and suffering. Many see sunlight for the first time on their way to the slaughterhouse. This image is intended to raise awareness of this fact.

“Reverse Abusement I” also addresses this theme. In it, a horse defends itself against its exploiter. I rode horses as a child and participated in competitions, but I realized that it is a form of exploitation. The bit presses painfully into the sensitive palate in order to exert control. No horse wants to voluntarily carry a human being or serve as a piece of sports equipment. In my picture, the horse is a woman and the rider is a man. This symbolizes the power imbalance between the sexes.

This motif is continued in “Reverse Abusement II”. The woman from “Caged Heart” is held here by a male bird in a golden cage. Once again, this is about oppression, but in reverse: the bird dominates the human, the oppressed fights back against exploitation and reverses the roles. The male bird dominates the woman in the cage, again hinting at the suppression of women’s self-determination.

“Man Eater” shows a woman as a praying mantis about to eat a man depicted as a fly. A deliberate role reversal, similar to my work “Bloody Mary” from the series “Surreal Passion”, in which a self-confident woman has a helpless man swimming in her cocktail glass, which she drinks while he drowns.

With these works, I want to provoke, encourage reflection, and draw attention to injustices. My art is both an expression of my personal attitude and a mirror of social structures.

Frida Pini | Reverse Abusement I