Tinted Souls EP9 with Laryssa: “My goal is to make people dream.”

January 4, 2021

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min read

Agneskena is no stranger to the Chase team. She recently did an editorial feature on must have accessories for the winter season 2020. With her project “Tinted Souls”, she shares the stories of individuals who, like her, are colored by their art.

This project is her way of connecting with people, and each episode embodies the emotions, beauty, sensitivity, but above all the honesty of the connection her subjects have with their passion. Agneskena handles the technical side and the “Tinted Souls” magic herself. In this episode, we get to know musician, composer, and performance artist Laryssa Kim.

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Why was it important for you to show Laryssa's story in Tinted Souls?

Agneskena: “The nice thing about an episode with Laryssa is that she approached me. Normally, I go up to people and say: look, I like your profile or I like what you do and I would like to work with you. But with her, it was the other way around. She had already seen my Tinted Souls episodes and had heard about my work through others. That's why she came to talk to me. I really liked that and said: 'Okay, if we are going to make something about you as an artist, then I would like to make it a Tinted Souls episode. ' And it turned out great, because she was a perfect match with what I usually look for. She has a genuine connection with her art and also has a story to tell. In the video, you can see that she also tells us something about her story in Italy. I found that very interesting.

In the end, it turned out great, because I now have an Italian episode. I never thought I would be able to do something like that. So it was definitely important to work with Laryssa, just to show the diversity of artists and creators and also simply to see how much a person's background can influence their work.

Is there a part of Laryssa's story that resonates with you personally?

Agneskena: “I found it interesting how she talked about the representation of Black women on TV. I have never been a musician myself, I have never lived in Italy, I was born here in Belgium as an African girl, and still it is true. I could not recognize myself on TV or in fashion magazines, or anywhere else. So I think that on that level there are many African girls or simply people from different ethnicities who do not recognize themselves in the media. There was really little to no representation on TV. It is good that this point is being made again and that others realize where we come from. It is very important to have that representation. I hope that with my Tinted Souls I am fulfilling my role a little bit. To show that diversity is real: we exist, we are here.”

She says her goal is to make people dream. What feelings do you want to evoke with your work as an artist?

Agneskena: “My goal was to somehow make people feel the emotion that I put into my images. At first I did this unconsciously, but now it is a conscious choice. They can interpret it in their own way. It is not that I want to impose something on people when they watch my Tinted Souls. I just want them to see the story and feel the emotions. I think that is very important. And with the feedback I have received throughout the whole process of all these episodes, I think I have achieved my goal.”

Sometimes people tell me that watching Tinted Souls when they were feeling down made them feel better. So yes, I do not know. I get emotional when I talk about it like this, but I think that was my goal. Not necessarily to make people dream, but mainly to make them empathize. I want viewers to discover different stories when they watch an episode of Tinted Souls.”

Follow @agneskena on Instagram

Article by Ioni Villanueva, images by Agneskena. This project was made possible with the support of the Flemish Fund for Journalism.

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