Issue 06: The Skye Aesthetic

The Skye Aesthetic

I came across Skye’s page while browsing Instagram (theskye_aesthetic) and was instantly smitten by her vibrant and bizarre visual world. I knew nothing about her, at that point, she even hid her face from the camera but I loved everything about her kitschy composite photographs. And as a long time plushie fan, I was compelled to find out more. 

 Loulou von Spiel is interacting with Skye!

In this article, she is shedding some light on her mysterious online persona and how a soft toy from IKEA made one creative girl’s world turn around.

-Who are you and why did you start your current Instagram page?

 “I am Skye and my shark is Blåhaj. I’m 25 years old and Blåhaj is almost 2. I have a Master’s degree in Fine Arts – Graphic Art, but in the recent years I’ve been expressing myself through photography and it is gonna stay one of my favourite means of expressing myself for a long long time.

I struggle with depression and anxiety. Some days it’s darker and some days it gets lighter. There are some days when it’s surprisingly sunny. But, when I started my Instagram page, it had got darker than usual and I needed to express my storm of emotions in some bigger way than crying or talking. I quite spontaneously created my Instagram page, took some pictures and posted one at a time.

 Fast forward a few weeks and my tumultuous inner world was coming to life through photography. My art can sometimes feel very cathartic. Creating it helps me a lot. Not much later I found out that I wasn’t the only human who had an emotional support plushie.

There was an entire community of plushies and blåhajs out there. Now my Blåhaj even sends and recieves plushie mail from friends all over the world, which is so cool! I would’ve never imagined my plushie shark and I would be part of such an amazing community. It always brightens my day when I see a postcard in the mail. I know Blåhaj is a plushie shark, but he really helps me feel better when I feel down. There’s something magical about those Ikea sharks.

It all started as a means of expressing my feelings and coping with the negative ones, but it turned out to be more than that. I feel like I’m part of a community now and I feel like my art has an impact on others as well. Sometimes it inspires, sometimes it entertains, or sometimes it sparks discussions about emotions, about life.

Maybe the first thing that comes to one’s mind when they hear about art that is born from a dark place, is an array of gloomy colors, sad themes and downturned smiles.

But, I’d say my art is quite the opposite. I get my inspiration from pop art (Andy Warhol), kitsch art (Jeff Koons), I get inspired by little decor objects, by glitter, or by fashion, by the sea, I get inspired by music (my music tastes vary quite a lot – from death metal to rock n roll to bubblegum pop), basically anything can inspire me. Oh, and my muse is, of course, Blåhaj. My art is colorful, but quite minimalistic, it looks rather happy, but sterile (clean) at the same time. And I pay a lot of attention to detail. 

Each series tells a story. Some are serious, some are playful. I try to create aesthetically pleasing pictures. I sometimes photograph miniatures (furniture from my doll house, food, decorative objects, mini cars etc.) and edit myself and the sharks to interact with them. I really love editing that type of pictures!”

– How does Blåhaj help you with your depression?

” I’ve never had many friends and there have been long stretches of time when I didn’t have friends at all. So, ever since I was a little kid I went to my plushies for emotional support and attachment. They would always listen, never criticize and only offer warm hugs. I have always been attached to my plushies.

Blåhaj appeared in my life when I was really depressed and didn’t have anyone to comfort me, so I just hugged him all the time and cried. I can remember that whenever I hugged him (still true to this day), the pain would ease for a bit. And on a day to day basis I didn’t feel so alone. It’s almost like having a really quiet pet. Also, there was a strong bond between me and Blåhaj since I first saw him. He looked sad and somehow panicked. I said to myself “this plushie understands me”. He also makes me laugh a lot. You just throw him on the sofa and he lands in an “exhausted” or “diva” pose. It’s a funny and very expressive shark. So, I find much help in having someone to always listen to you, always be there for you and never shame or criticize, only offering hugs and making you laugh, especially when you don’t have anyone else available to offer you all those things. “

I find Skye and Blåhaj ‘s rainbow candied world as emotionally rich as it is satisfying. I want to join them in the fun of their pictorial adventures, yet, I feel that it would be intrusive to do so. So I will keep on following their mischievous antics from afar, and if you wish to do the same, or become their friends, follow them on Instagram, theskye_aesthetic