UO junior Lidija Sovulj started painting as soon as she could hold a crayon. Creating art made her feel “like I could express myself and see the world in a different way, whether it was lighter and funnier or darker and more emotive,” she said.
Art has always been a way for Sovulj to process her emotions and struggle through her identity. She remembers using a yellow marker to color in a person because there were not accurate colors to depict skin tones.
“Art is always a way for me to process,” Sovulj said. “My family is Vietnamese and Croatian, and so identity has always been a huge struggle for me. My artwork has always been a place where I can work on that and work on myself in a really free and open environment.”
The first time Sovulj remembers experiencing racism, she was 5 years old. Sovulj brought a bento box to school for lunch, filled with fried rice that was seasoned with fish sauce. Other students made fun of her because of what she was eating and how it smelled, Sovulj said.
When Sovulj started high school, her family moved to Astoria, Oregon. About 90% of Astoria’s population is White, according to 2019 U.S. Census data. Sovulj experienced a lot of racism and colorism while living in Astoria and here in Eugene.
“I have never felt truly stable or safe within my identity as someone who is biracial,” Sovulj said. “[Art] has always helped me understand myself more.”
Social justice themes are clear in Sovulj’s work. It can be difficult to find positive representation of both Asian and mixed people in the mainstream media, Sovulj said. Her goal is to help people feel seen, loved and heard in her work.
“Especially in Eugene, there’s a lot of White creatives. And it’s exhausting,” Sovulj said. “Art is a really great way to communicate what’s going on in the world, and the injustices in the world.”
Sovulj mostly depicts people in her artwork. She uses acrylics and oils, painting portraits using bright colors. One of her pieces is a painting of a woman, the bottom half of her face large in comparison to the top. Her lips are big and pink, her hair is blue and her skin is a mixture of green, blue and yellow. She has eyelashes, but instead of eyes, just empty white sockets. On her head sits a line drawing of a figure holding a bong with the words “Alone with my thoughts” floating behind its head.
“I really love painting people and trying to process their emotions,” Sovulj said. “There are so many amazing, beautiful stories you can tell with faces and emotions.”
In the spring of 2020, Sovulj started her own t-shirt company called Lidija’s Love Shack.
“I started making shirts with the idea of purely to make people happy and give them something that resembles a hug on their back at all times,” Sovulj wrote in an Instagram post.
Currently, she offers one shirt design in a variety of colors. The image is four faces, all with different expressions and head shapes. Sovulj also advertises that she is open for commissions.
“I would love to further make clothing. And honestly not even for the money aspect,” Sovulj said. “I realize that money is royally just fucked up.”
Sovulj uses art to communicate about the injustices within our society. It has helped her to recognize the value in her own culture as well.
“There’s a lot of shit that goes on in our cultures that is reflected in artwork that is very exclusionary, very violent,” Sovulj said. “So to turn artwork into a loving act of resistance, quite frankly, is really important.”
She uses art as a “loving act of resistance” by painting images of people that are often left out of the mainstream media. She also gives her artwork away, physically putting energy, time and love into the process. One of her favorite things is to ask people what their favorite color is and then create a piece of art centered around that particular color.
In Sovulj’s experience, art is a necessary form of resistance and healing because of the racism and injustices she has faced in her life. For her, the racism at UO is much more covert compared to her experiences in Astoria, showing up through microaggressions and appropriation.
Sovulj is both a biological anthropology and a sociology major. A lot of her classes perpetuate the racism and fetishization of Asian and mixed people, Sovulj said. She went on to say that she has avoided taking Asian American literature classes because they are mostly taught by White women.
“And that’s just going to be one hell of a time learning about my culture and my people from another White person,” Sovulj said. “And that sadly has also been what it has been so far.”
Painting is a tool Sovulj uses to help her process her thoughts and emotions. It is a way for her to express her anger, but also a safe place to help her heal, Sovulj said. Her goal is to eventually paint murals and continue to create clothing and commissions for other people.
“When I paint people, I want to look at life through their eyes,” Sovulj said. “I want to be able to see myself clearer.”
Campus Creatives is a weekly column by A&C reporter Nika Bartoo-Smith that highlights unique and talented members of the UO community. If you know someone who should be featured — whether they started their own business, run a podcast or just love to dance — email Nika at [email protected] or or Tweet her @BartooNika.
