Tinted Souls EP9 featuring Laryssa: “My goal is to inspire people to dream.”

January 4, 2021

min read

Agneskena is no stranger to the Chase team. She recently contributed an editorial piece on must-have accessories for the 2020 winter season. Through her project “Tinted Souls,” she shares the stories of people who, like her, are defined by their art.

This project is her way of connecting with people, and each episode captures the emotions, beauty, and sensitivity—but above all, the honesty—of the connection her subjects have with their passion. Agneskena handles the technical aspects and the “Tinted Souls” magic herself. In this episode, we get to know musician, composer, and performance artist Laryssa Kim.

<div class="post_button"><a href="https://login.circle.so/sign_up?request_host=community.chase.be" class="button is-small w-button">Join our community</a></div>

Why was it important to you to tell Laryssa's story in Tinted Souls?

Agneskena: “The nice thing about an episode with Laryssa is that she approached me. Normally, I go up to people and say: ‘Look, I like your profile or I like what you do, and I’d like to work with you.’ But with her, it was the other way around. She had already seen my Tinted Souls episodes and had heard about my work through others. That’s why she came to talk to me. I really liked that and said: ‘Okay, if we’re going to make something about you as an artist, then I’d like to make it a Tinted Souls episode.’ And it turned out great, because she was a perfect match for what I usually look for. She has a genuine connection with her art and also has a story to tell. In the video, you can see that she also tells us something about her story in Italy. I found that very interesting.”

In the end, it turned out great, because I now have an Italian episode. I never thought I’d be able to do something like that. So it was definitely important to work with Laryssa, just to showcase the diversity of artists and creators, and also simply to see how much a person’s background can influence their work.

Is there a part of Laryssa's story that speaks to you personally?

Agneskena: “I found it interesting how she talked about the representation of Black women on TV. I’ve never been a musician myself, I’ve never lived in Italy—I was born here in Belgium as an African girl—and yet it’s still true. I couldn’t see myself reflected on TV or in fashion magazines, or anywhere else. So I think that on that level, there are many African girls—or simply people from different ethnicities—who don’t see themselves reflected in the media. There was really little to no representation on TV. It’s good that this point is being raised again and that others are realizing where we come from. It’s very important to have that representation. I hope that with my Tinted Souls, I’m fulfilling my role a little bit—to show that diversity is real: we exist, we are here.”

She says her goal is to inspire people to dream. What feelings do you want to evoke through your work as an artist?

Agneskena: “My goal was to somehow help people feel the emotion I put into my images. At first I did this unconsciously, but now it’s a conscious choice. They can interpret it in their own way. It’s not that I want to impose anything on people when they watch my Tinted Souls. I just want them to see the story and feel the emotions. I think that is very important. And based on the feedback I’ve received throughout the entire process of creating all these episodes, I believe I’ve achieved my goal.”

Sometimes people tell me that watching *Tinted Souls* when they were feeling down made them feel better. So, I don’t really know. I get emotional when I talk about it like this, but I think that was my goal. Not necessarily to make people dream, but mainly to make them empathize. I want viewers to discover different stories when they watch an episode of *Tinted Souls*.”

Follow @agneskena on Instagram

Article by Ioni Villanueva, images by Agneskena. This project was made possible with the support of the Flemish Fund for Journalism.

<p></p><CENTER>___</CENTER> <p><CENTER>Do you want to grow as a digital creator? Then join our community where you can meet other creators, attend free workshops, and ask all your questions about digital creativity.</CENTER></p><div class="post_button"><a href="https://login.circle.so/sign_up?request_host=community.chase.be" class="button is-small w-button">Join our community</a></div>