Sonya Fu’s Dreamy Paintings Inspired by Sleep Paralysis

Somewhere between the state from wakefulness to sleep, called “the Hypnagogic state”, is where Hong Kong based digital artist Sonya Fu finds her inspiration. Her portraits of dreamy young girls, whose eyes almost always appear closed, are the ghosts of her visions during sleep paralysis. Although digital, they are painted with a sensitive touch to surprising details in their face and hair, and given a soft, eerie atmosphere. This combination of sweet with dark, spiritual subject matter continues into her choice of symbols and technique- a mix influenced by her childhood spent on an international British Colony. At her website, Fu shares, “Art is a powerful visual language and creating art is a calming and therapeutic process. I would like to share with people my dreamscape, its beauty and its oddity. It might be an eerie creature, a whimsical scenery or a disturbed beauty who speaks words of wisdom – they are all embodiments of my subconscious mind.”