ALIENQUEEN is a contemporary multidisciplinary artist specializing in digital illustration. Influenced by psychedelics, dreams, sex, and death, her art evokes comfort and anxiety simultaneously, handling its subject matter through a layer of acidic haze, normalizing the terrifying and transforming the sweet and mundane into the unsettling. The subjects of her work project a sense of immediacy upon the viewer but also seem entirely suspended in time, lost in worlds of their own making. A Cambodian refugee, living in the United States, her family’s experiences have influenced her work as well, lending specific perspectives on love, mortality, and connection.

SuperRare Labs Senior Curator An interviews ALIENQUEEN about psychedelics, death, and her journey in the NFT space.

An: Where were the characters in your art originated from? The girl, skull, alien, frog, etc.
ALIENQUEEN: The girl in my artwork represents me, and the skulls can also symbolize either me or another entity, depending on the piece. Since I was a kid, aliens have fascinated me, and now I love drawing them, making them a significant part of my art!

An: How did you decide on your color palettes?
AQ: The colors flow to me impulsively, and I become quite obsessive with them. I’ll modify an illustration multiple times until it feels just right. I suppose I choose my colors based on my emotions and feelings.

An: How important are psychedelics to your art?
AQ: Psychedelics are pretty essential to me and I use psychedelics as a tool to help stimulate my imagination and increase creativity. I feel more open and receptive to new ideas while on a psychedelic trip and I feel a deeper connection to myself.

An: Can you tell us a bit more about this 1/1 you are dropping on SR?
AQ: This piece is about the certainty of death and how it’s an inevitable part of life. Alongside death, there’s also freedom. Death is the ultimate truth we all face, while freedom allows us to live life the way we want. These two ideas are closely connected, reminding us how valuable life is and urging us to live it true to ourselves.

An: Many artists are afraid of dropping 1/1s during the bear market. What made you decide to do it against the current market condition?
AQ: I’ve been working on this piece for a few months, and I’m super excited to share it. It’s different from my usual work but still related. The character (death) is part of my story in some illustrations, making this piece very special to me. I’m not worried about how it will be received in the market; I’m just going with the flow. I enjoy surprises, and whatever happens, I’m okay with it.

An: How is it like to be a female founder of 2 pfp projects?
AQ: It’s really cool and to know that I have a community that loves my art and supports me, is a truly great feeling.

An: What’s your advice to other artists on how to market/promote themselves?
AQ: Be true to yourself and your craft, be authentic, and connect with people who understand and vibe with you. Stay positive, knowing that things happen for a reason. Trust your intuition. When it comes to promoting yourself, focus on creating art with passion, and it will speak for itself.

An: How do you build and maintain relationships with your collectors?
AQ: I connect by becoming friends with them and hanging out in real life whenever possible, especially during NFT events.

An: What’s your favorite thing about the NFT space?
AQ: I deeply value the incredible relationships and connections I’ve formed in this space, along with the amazing knowledge acquired. It’s truly inspiring to gather insights from like-minded artists and collectors who share the same vision for the NFT space and community.

An: You are also one of the co-founders of Art Asylum, tell us a bit more about it!
AQ: Art Asylum is a place where artists and collectors come together, sharing insights and ideas. It’s a lively hub for collaboration, offering support in our artistic journeys. We’re a community of like-minded individuals, connected by our passion for art, NFTs, and exploring the NFT world together.

Emily Xie is a visual artist living in NYC. She works with algorithms to create lifelike textures and forms. She is interested in how disparate materials and patterns come together to create unified visuals, and the stories that each might bring into the fold. She draws inspiration from physical media such as textiles, collage, and wallpaper, and examines them within a digital context.

Her generative systems often navigate many delicate balances at once: the interplays between chance versus control, the organic versus the systematic, and the abstract versus the representational.

Xie’s creative coding work is collected and shown internationally. Most recently, she has exhibited at Kunsthalle Zürich, Unit London, the Armory Show, Bright Moments, Art Blocks Curated Season 6, Vellum LA x Artsy.net, Times Square, the StandardVision Artist Showcase throughout the city of Los Angeles.

Prior to pursuing art full-time, Emily built a career as a software engineer while exploring and teaching herself creative coding on the side.

Shutong Liu: You studied History of Art and Architecture. How has that informed your artistic practice?

Emily Xie: Studying art history meant that I had a pretty strong awareness of art and how it’s been interpreted through time. Art is always in dialogue with other art, so it’s enriching to have been able to deeply consider the works of important creatives that came before me. It allowed me to think a bit about how their practices are contextualized within the history of art, which in turn informs how I might respond to the greater body of artwork out there.

I also think that having this background means that I naturally take inspiration from historic movements of the past. For example, my palettes are often based on old paintings or Japanese woodblock works. I think this tends to create an interesting dynamic in my pieces because while I work in a medium that is inherently contemporary due to its computational nature, it also tends to be fused with visual references of the past.

SL: You released “Memories of Qilin” with ArtBlocks in March last year, since then, you have collaborated with BrightMoments and Cactoid Labs for “Off Script” and “Interwoven,” plus editions and 1/1 artworks with PROOF and Unit London and many other projects. It must have been a busy year for you. Could you speak about some of your most memorable moments for you in the past year?

Emily Xie: It has been an absolutely crazy year for me. Probably the most memorable moment for me was seeing my mini-series, “Assemblage,” up at the Armory Show in NYC through Cortesi Gallery. I’ve always enjoyed going to this art fair in the past, so it was pretty humbling to be able to attend the venue last year, but with my art up on display. I later found out that one of the buyers was from the traditional art world; she bought a piece simply because she loved the aesthetic and wanted it displayed in her home, knowing nothing about NFTs or generative art. Seeing a wider appreciation of my artwork that transcended a purely digital audience was pretty rewarding.

SL: To follow up on the previous question, how have you, as an artist, changed in the past year? 

EX: Honestly, I’ve grown tremendously as an artist in the past year. For the longest time, I had engaged with generative art as a hobby on the side: something that I would dip in and out of whenever I had spare time while working as a software engineer, or whenever I got the chance to take a break from the programming industry. I did it simply because I enjoyed it: I loved tinkering and exploring, and generative art allowed me to do that in a way that directly combined visual and algorithmic thinking. And I’d say that over the past year, I’ve managed to truly crystalize my voice as an artist. I’ve been lucky to be able to develop a style that resonates with me and represents what I care about: I love patterns, lush textures, and textiles––and being able to combine these elements into organic, bold visuals. But I also believe that I continue to refine my style as I go. Every new piece that I put out is an external representation of growth for me as an artist. In some ways, I’m just getting started, and I’m excited to see where my art goes next.

SL: How do you think the landscape of generative art within art history changed since NFTs? Where do you think generative art will go next? What are some trends within this genre that are becoming popular?

EX: The blockchain has certainly impacted generative art. For one, it brought awareness of the medium to a much larger audience. I don’t think there has ever been this much interest in generative art––for the longest time, I had to explain to people what the term meant. The increased awareness generally propelled generative art as a field; there is so much innovation and experimentation going on. The art that is coming out these days is incredible. On top of that, I feel that generative art is starting to get increasingly recognized by institutions.

In terms of trends, many practitioners in the past year have focused on trying to recreate static traditional media in a generative form. There’s always an appetite for this, but I do predict artists will start moving in the other direction and experimenting with works that take advantage of the specifics of the medium itself: so, perhaps we’ll see more interactivity or animation. Or maybe folks will veer in a different direction, and we’ll start seeing more pieces that are not purely generative art but instead incorporate aspects of it.

SL: Tell us about this piece you are releasing on SuperRare? Is this your first time experimenting with AI-generated assets?

EX: Yes, the piece is called “Synthetic Dialogue.” The work combines AI-generated assets with algorithmically-generated paper to create a collage. While I’ve played with AI before, this piece was exciting for me because it was the first time I’ve experimented with merging both AI and generative art into a single piece.

For the AI assets, I used DreamStudio to create a variety of abstract visuals inspired by Kandinsky and Klimt. I pulled some generative papers that my algorithms have produced. Once I had a set of interesting assets, I then cut all of the pieces digitally using Procreate, layering and combining each item into a composition that I felt was balanced and intriguing. It was a pretty rewarding experience as it let me work with my hands a bit more directly. This was a process that I had craved for a while given that my work is usually intermediated by code!

SL: As you rightly pointed out in a previous interview, artists who use computational technologies as tools to create, one finds themselves constantly learning new things. You said “technology moves fast and relentlessly shapes the landscape around us, so there’s a constant pressure to keep up in the face of such rapid change.” Could you speak about finding or retaining your own style given that you are experimenting with new tools?

EX: For this piece, even though I was working with a different process and incorporating AI, I kept a thread of continuity by porting in the generative paper textures that people might be familiar with in my work. Beyond that, I think an artist’s style will tend to follow them regardless of what medium they are exploring. That might be evident in things like choice of color or sense of balance.

Ayla El Moussa is a surreal artist whose visual vernacular juxtaposes traditional compositional elements of nude portraiture with nature. Her self-portraits draw her audience into a contemplation of the worlds within. Ayla traces her love of mythology and the fantastical to her magical upbringing on a farm on the western coast of Canada, explaining why her work often feels like a snapshot of a much longer and grander tale. She is both the artist and the muse, thus challenging the power dynamic of nude portraiture by reclaiming agency over her own body and inviting her audience to experience intimacy as she defines it. Ayla’s work has been featured at Christie’s. She is one of the 6529 Meme artists, has collaborated with Playboy and with SuperRare Labs on numerous occasions

Linda Dounia Rebeiz: Scene 3 of the Painted Muse Series has a painterly texture that hasn’t been seen in your work to this extent. Elements like this texture, the choice of garment, and the model’s pose seem like a nod to the Renaissance.

Ayla El-Moussa: My research of the Renaissance started with the Century Series and further expanded with the Painted Muse Series. The bear market was the perfect time for me to dig into some of my influences from the Renaissance and explore them in my practice more formally. The relationship that painters from the Renaissance had with light has always been very interesting to me as a photographer. While starting the Painted Muse Series, I wanted to give myself room to explore some of these curiosities and really take the time to experiment.

LDR: What are some stylistic references from the Renaissance or otherwise that we can expect to see in Scene 3?

AEM: Caravaggio’s approach to chiaroscuro, balancing rich dark tones with beautiful moments of light to guide the eye through a painting, is something that I was very intentional about in Scene 3. And because I was working on portraits, I kept coming back to John Singer Sergeant’s bravura brushwork and his use of white paint to create stunning portraits without too many fine details. I actually did a lot of painting on Procreate in this series. I took my time to experiment and get the techniques right.

LDR: Your audience was introduced to your painting a little bit with the Nude Abstracts. Is the Painted Muse Series a continuation of that journey?

AEM: Nude Abstracts was my first opportunity to paint in Procreate. The Painted Muse Series is more figurative, but I think people will see the stylistic links between the series. Introducing painting to my practice has been a way for me to expand it and explore ways to play with materials I am known for, like silk, water, and rock.

LDR: What was the idea behind the composition of the Painted Muse Series’ artworks?

AEM: Scene 1 was an experimental piece. I was playing around with studio photography in Procreate and didn’t really have an end goal in mind. I was so happy with the result that I decided to expand the scope with the next piece, Scene 2, and work on a bigger scene. In it, there is a figure reclining with her back to the audience, very similar to a lot of my work in that it’s an anonymous woman. I don’t like to create an identity so to speak for my characters. I prefer the audience to leave their preconceived ideas and project themselves into the character. Scene 3 was interesting because I have rarely done a frontal pose. The only one I have done in the past was The Allegorical Figure of Day and Night, which also uses silk as a material. In Scene 3, I am wrapped in silk but the treatment of the material in Procreate makes it look like marble. I would almost say that Scene 3 is the most erotic piece I have worked on. There is a mystery about what I could be doing. Am I posing for someone? Is there someone watching me? The way the light penetrates the silk and is reflected by it is incredible but also intriguing. Have I just finished doing something with a lover? To me, it was perfect to end the series on intrigue because there are so many questions about what I could be doing.

LDR: You didn’t necessarily start with a story in mind, but ultimately each piece in the series leads to the other. That in itself is a wonderful testament to experimentation – one idea building on another until something larger emerges.

AEM: The process of experimentation to make this series was very enjoyable for me. It’s incredible to step back and realize that a beautiful story has written itself through the process of trying new things and, also, see how far I can stretch my practice to explore new grounds while keeping the feeling of my work.

LDR: Elements like water, sand, or rock are very present in your earlier work, but in the Painted Muse Series, they are stripped back and your character is an empty space. What was the thinking behind this new direction?

AEM: Most of my work is either shot outdoors or includes elements of nature. I wanted to challenge myself and strip away as much as I could but still keep recognizable references to previous work. For the Painted Muse Series, I shot everything in the studio for example. The idea was to then use painting techniques to give the character the illusion of being a marble statue. I have always been drawn to stone, sculptures, and the idea of cementing something, like a legacy. It’s a big word but in a way, I feel that artists on the blockchain are cementing their contributions to art by minting it, in the same way sculptors immortalize their work in marble. The treatment of the silk on the character’s body was instrumental in getting that marble effect. The silk also fluidly wraps around her, water-like. So in a way, nature is still present in this stripped-back version of my work.

LDR: You explained earlier how this collection was a nod to the masters that have inspired your work. I’m curious about your relationship to them, and to art history in general, and what it means to you.

AEM: It’s an important question for me because we’ve uncovered that there are so many incredible female artists who were overshadowed by their male counterparts in art history. Artemisia Gentileschi was one of the most influential artists of the Baroque period, but she is not as well-known as Caravaggio today, for example. With this series, I am almost inserting myself back into this period of art history and trying to reclaim it. On top of that, I am using my own body. I am the artist and I am also the muse.

LDR: In a way, the power structure that exists between the male artist and his muse is not at all present in your work. As the artist and the muse who also happens to be a woman, the process of making your work is empowering you.

AEM: I feel very lucky to be able to be both. Whereas portraits during that period of history channeled a certain gaze on women, I am able to engage in conversation with myself. It helps me learn about myself as a woman and articulate what I want to say as an artist. It’s very intimate and it also feels very safe. I don’t have anyone looking at me while I work. I am looking at myself and choosing to allow my audience to see me in the way I present myself. That’s empowering to me. I have been asked many times by colleagues to pose as a model but I am such an awkward person. If someone else is taking a photograph of me, stepping in front of the camera is very hard for me. As soon as I am alone, there is a complete shift. It’s like I am coming to life and I draw energy from feeling ownership over my body.

LDR: The history of nude female portraiture is definitely a complicated one. It’s almost natural to wonder who we are looking at, how they felt during the experience of being painted or photographed, and whether the result feels objectifying or not. Those questions don’t feel necessary with your work.

AEM: It’s interesting that nude portraits were historically made for boudoirs and other male spaces like it. That explains why there is a voyeuristic element to them, to create a fantasy or the idea of sexual worship. In my work though, I am choosing what to show, how to pose, and how to compose the piece. I keep coming back to this idea of ‘old’ scenes with new details. This means that I am not necessarily creating new poses or compositional references, but it’s my context, as a woman working with technology, that is the novelty.

LDR: Using Procreate to this extent is new for you. What was that experience like?

AEM: I am going to give a shout-out to my brother for introducing me to Procreate because it’s been an amazing experience. I used to paint a lot in high school, oil paintings mostly, before I started photography. Procreate has really brought back some of the foundational principles I learned then, but it’s also opened up some completely new dimensions for me. I can channel the embodiment of a painting while still having total control. It was the perfect program for channeling my research. I would look at how John Singer Sergeant approached brushstrokes or how Caravaggio treats light on folded material and try to emulate them on the tablet. It was time-consuming but it was definitely worth the effort. It was also amazing that I could almost carry my work on my tablet. Everything I needed for this series was just right there. I started working on the Painted Muses Series in California where my studio is, but I finished it in London while traveling to see my family who’s based here.

LDR: Where to from here? Is Scene 3 the last act of the Painted Muse Series? Are we going to see more of this stripped-back version of Ayla moving forward?

AEM: This collection is a bridge to a new direction. It’s research-based and also explores the materials I am familiar with in a new way. My appetite for experimentation has grown and I will keep expanding in these new directions. The Painted Muse Series in particular, though, is a short story. Scene 3 is the last act of that story. To me, it feels like a prelude to what’s next.