Voodoo Queens by Nina Chakrabarti

Nina Chakrabarti was born and spent her early years in Calcutta, India. As a teen she moved to the UK and studied illustration at Central St. Martins and later at The Royal College of Art. Today, Chakrabarti lives and works in London and is still very passionate about drawing and doodling. Nina’s working methods are organic and experimental; she uses pencils, ink, felt tips, biros and many mediums and techniques, including digital, to produce a broad range of work.

For the “Voodoo Queens” series Nina Chakrabarti did for Seattle magazine “I Want You”, she made her illustrations over photographs – inspired by the art and culture of Voodoo.

Voodoo is a spirited experience of mystery and revelation. It arrived from Africa on the shores of the Jamaica as a healing tradition – to gain strength on the inside to be able to fight the imperialist tradition on the outside. Soon a darker version of Voodoo was born, inflicting pain and suffering to the enemies. This is the Voodoo variant that was smuggled of the island to Haiti and later to New Orleans. Voodoo was also very women-centered and graphically rich, and an everlasting source of inspiration for musicians, writers, painters, tattoo artists, graphic designers and illustrators.

To see more of Nina’s electrifying drawings and illustrations, surf to www.ninachakrabarti.com

Another great source of inspiration is the I Want You Magazine website: www.iwantyoumagazine.com. The quarterly design and art magazine designed and published by Dumb Eyes studio features exclusive artworks by upcoming talents & overlooked artists from around the world.