Journeying into SELF

EERIE horizons, still fauna and otherworldly imagery seem to be the main subjects of young Esther Eino’s artwork, that delve into the reality of everyday life.

She explains that her work is very simple and peaceful art.

“It’s nice, it’s just there,” says the Walvis Bay native who describes herself as a very carefree person.

Eino uses acrylic paint on canvas to bring to life the worlds and visions in her mind, but does so with a sort of raw and unrefined element that makes each piece a little more unique, but also a lot more intentional in being easy to fit in with any type of home decor.

Going by the moniker Self, the aptly self-taught artist began pushing out her paintings via social media during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, curing boredom being her main motivation.

Eino is a media student at the University of Namibia, majoring in public relations and advertising as well as drama and performing arts. She says she is inspired heavily by many different happenings in her life.

“It doesn’t take a lot to get me inspired. It could be a certain thing I saw during the day or something I saw in a series I was watching. I will think about it and that leads me to what I paint,” she adds.

And what she paints is something akin to a literary success. Her art is vibrant, high energy and full of life. It’s almost as if each brush stroke is a word, and the final product is a beautiful story.

Interestingly enough, Eino is not very familiar with the art world or its big names, as she just started her painting journey now.

Though she has a certain maturity in her style of drawing, an inquiry into her favourite established visual artists draws a blank, something she is keen on changing.

“I don’t know much about art. I just started doing it and I asked myself, ‘what’s the worst that can happen?’ I was bored and had nothing to do, so I’ve never really known much about art. But I’m learning.”

Response to her work is positive. Soon after starting, she was trending on social media and many people wanted her artwork.

According to Eino, her favourite use of paint is in creating black and white portraits.

“I like using a lot of black in my paintings. It makes it look simple,” she elaborates.

Currently she is working on properly debuting her work for a gallery audience, creating a series of interrelated works that she says will speak to each other.

Though her progress was slowed down due to her participation in recent protests against sexual and gender-based violence, Eino says she is steadfast in creating a name for herself in the art world. She is also a passionate writer who curates pieces of prose for her blog ‘Self’s Blog’ and is making a name for herself in entertainment and promotions circles having worked with the likes of Gazza.

Each piece of art retails at a different price depending on the level of detail and the size of the canvas, but her work is relatively affordable.

For your own piece of Namibian art, follow Eino on Instagram @self.ff or @selff.art, on twitter @esther_eino or check out her writing at selfsblog.home.blog

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