Exploring the psychic and laughter-filled universe of artist Lisa Signorini

“I’m a tornado, walking paradox, and eternal stranger,” says Paris-based artist Lisa Signorini. It’s a perfect way to summarise the many fragmented aspects of Lisa’s person: from psychic readings, to contemporary drawings, to writing, making music, and filmmaking – Lisa does not keep herself confined to any box. As a “versatile, shape-shifter type of person,” she tells us, Lisa is impossible to pin down to any one given medium. “My drawing practice, however, is my main focus,” she clarifies. It’s no surprise, as Lisa’s drawings are incredibly haunting, beautiful, and detailed. They are distinctly contemporary, but situate themselves in a history of matriarchal occultism and mysticism. “I started to draw very early on as it gave me an internal sense of safe-space,” Lisa tells It’s Nice That. “It gave me means of transmuting my experience of reality, and it brought a form of personal catharsis as well as a reason to wake up in the morning.” Starting at a young age, Lisa would practice her drawing in the mornings before primary school, and found the artistic outlet to resonate with her in years to come. With years of perfecting the craft under her belt, Lisa now has a crystal clear understanding of her distinct “sensational” visual language. “My drawings are pulsion based and come from a very deep space within myself,” Lisa explains. “I would say that visually they are linked by attention to detail, personal mythologies, and a general unconscious atmosphere of a sexy nightmare.”

The unconscious atmosphere is something Lisa explains she’s always been connected to, titling it as the “subtle realm.” It’s an engrossing and endlessly rewarding world to draw from, as seen in her impressive portfolio. “It feels familiar, and has a reassuring aspect because it permits us to find some sense in the experience of reality,” Lisa says. “As a hypersensitive person, I often find strong solace in the psychic and mystic world.” For Lisa, it’s the sense of humour and tongue-in-cheek of the unknown that attracts her. “Laughing for me is a religion,” she adds. It’s true that her drawings, whilst thought-provoking and contemplative, contain an air of fun.

“The connection with the subtle world feels like outer frequencies that come in contact with mine and results in a meaningful and playful non-verbal communication,” Lisa says on the fusion of laughter with mysticism. “Usually it’s interesting signs, supernatural little winks, etc.” The drawing is ultimately a way for Lisa to unravel her own psychic frequencies, like “having a secret garden,” as she describes it.

“Usually, I start a drawing in a pulsional way, in order to mark and transmute a moment, feeling or situation that has impacted me,” Lisa says, referencing how her practice of giving psychic readings often interlinks with her drawing processes. “Lately I’ve been interested in thinking of my drawings as objects and have been putting them on satiné wood and glossy materials to give them a more material aspect, something you can touch and hold,” Lisa explains on developing her practice. “This is why oil painting on canvas has been a revelation in 2021.” It’s these kinds of inventive and intuitive modes of thinking that has given Lisa success with her art – most recently, her drawings decorated the cover of singer-songwriter Yves Tumor’s new EP The Asymptotical World.

Lisa now spends time exploring multiplicities in music, finding her own voice, working on Ableton, and consuming herself with the “random vocals” ubiquitous in electronic music. “Let’s take Windowlicker by Aphex Twin: three minutes in the song, a french voice says ‘Je crois que je vais donner des croquettes au chien,’ or ‘I think I want to give croquettes to the dog.’” Atop of making videos, writing movies, and practicing oil painting, Lisa still has her drawings being made across the year and distributed around the world. It’s an ambitious scope, but a body of work we have no doubt Lisa can achieve. At the crux of it all, Lisa moves forward with an ultimately simple vision: “I want my art to evolve and bring a form of hope to people.”