COLOUR IS CALLING
For years a tiny voice whispered these words from a distant corner in my mind.
Through forays in fashion and female entrepreneurship. A chapter in planner-making and seasonal colour analysis.
All along, the voice played its patient reminder like a record in the background.
I’m Aimee Johanan, British-Chinese-Indian artist and colourist based in East London.
I conduct colourful experiments in fabric, paint and light.
Always quality controlled by my lovely feline art assistants.
I use colours to create a feeling. As potent ingredients that offer soul sustenance.
Whether I am painting, collaging, creating garments or curating materials for the home.
I believe in the power of colour to move us and heal what hurts.
To awaken your senses, reminding us of what it's like to feel truly alive.
To feel better, quite simply.
Colour gently tugs on memories, drawing them out in all their sensory richness.
The way the right shade of creamy custard yellow or tea-stained, old-book white can bring you right back to the streets of Florence in an instant.
It reaches deep, through the labyrinth of corridors and rooms inside you.
Offering a direct line to your emotions.
When words feel inadequate, grasping. Like they couldn't possibly capture the fullness of what you feel.
Your body already speaks this language.
Colour turns the dial up and down on your nervous system.
I’m sure you’ve felt it.
The way Kashmiri chilli red heats and activates. Excited, urgent, high octave.
Or how dusty sage green cools, subdues, exhales.
It dampens the noise and clears the space so you can hear your own voice again.
Or the deep, powerful thrum of Lapis Lazuli blue, charged with ancient nocturnal magic.
Used in sacred spaces for thousands of years.
Then, there are the ripest shades of berry. From an inky, midnight blackberry purple, to an exuberant, glossy strawberry red.
Delicious, morish, intense.
Colour signals that there is nourishment here, on a biological level.
And your body responds, "Here, I am abundant. Here, I am safe."
That foundation of safety can change how you live; hearts unclench, shoulders melt, truth frees.
To embrace colour doesn't mean you have to drown in a crayon box.
And it doesn’t mean you have to abandon the soft, sweet comfort of vanilla.
But there's so much room to play in the space between.
To break free from beige, and dip your toes into richer hues.
To draw from the full palette within.
I intend to craft and share with you a seasonal menu of hues.
So you can find the colour recipe that will feed your soul in this season of life.
To create your own cocoon of comforting colour that revives you.
A soothing sanctuary where you can tune in to the voice within.
Just beyond chaos' reach.
Right now, my work is to paint and curate collections of artwork that become calming prints for your home.
Bringing the restorative qualities of nature inside, using colour.
Each time you choose to invest in artwork from Johanan Studio, a tree is planted (literally).
So you can uplift the energy of your home, and regrow forests for the planet at the same time.
And £1 from each print is donated to Choose Love, who get life-saving aid and resources to displaced communities around the world.