feature: visual artist binx shares her beautiful dark twisted fantasy

My name is Binx, and I am a polychromatic soul. I’m a graphic illustrator from Chicago, IL that went to school for illustration at Columbia College Chicago. Since graduating and moving to Los Angeles, I’ve not only explored what it means for me to be an artist, but also fallen deeper into my fantasies.

By Binx, AFROPUNK Contributor

I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety for a long time. I spent most of my childhood teased, which lead to me becoming pretty reserved. My mother would sign me up for various liberal art classes and take me to art fairs downtown, giving me a strong appreciation for the arts in general. My stepfather is a DJ and producer, so he would play records for hours, ranging from classic rock and disco to house. There were so many times where I would get lost in the sound and started drawing. School only continued to be socially difficult, so I began to long for adulthood. I believed I could not only have the bohemian lifestyle I had always dreamed of, but could give that same euphoria I got from art to others. My longing for a better world resulted in me slowly developing my own.

Living in the land where one’s desires can be made into reality is a dream itself. My experiences thus far in Los Angeles have proven to have some of the most disparaging and invigorating times of my life. Through my impoverished travels, I’ve encountered many colorful individuals, some who have reached their ultimate fantasy and others who are swept up in the illusion of still obtaining that dream. Being enveloped by such an environment has only pulled me farther into the world that I call “Polychromatia.”

Through mine and the experiences of those around me, Polychromatia has become a world of these girls who are engulfed in their own egotistical fantasies. Their beauty lies in the subject matter of love and hope; these girls are waiting for the day where they find reach this utopia where their hearts are fulfilled and accepted. Because that world seems impossible to reach, most of the girls carry an aura of melancholy. There’s something I’ve always found alluring about such a romanticized state of mind. Their physical environments are influenced by a lot of the video games, anime, and fiction books I enjoyed throughout my childhood. Color is a strong element of my work. Most of my color choices reflect the mood I want to convey most in a piece. Rainbows, consisting of the whole spectrum, represent epiphanies.

Spirals also play a heavy influence. They are a way of life: an eternal cycle that is always moving, but developing into something greater. They usually represent the anxiety of the girl. The tighter the spiral, the more tension present. They are also a source of therapeutic release. The more spirals I put down, the more I feel at ease. They help me focus and reflect on the subject of a piece, but also in my life.

I consider the work I’m currently creating to be the documentation of the journey I’m on. To help others feel like they have found something they can relate to and also be encouraged by is all I can hope to give to this world. I believe we’re on the brink of conscious-minded revolution, one that I hope leads others to live with more compassion towards one another and develop communities of spiritual growth. I want to be a part of that and I have only just begun to travel down the path of my own beautiful, dark, twisted fantasy. 

* Binx’s website: http://the-binx.com/