Sivan Karim: On Solitude
The Baram House spoke to Sivan Karim, a Berlin-based illustrator exploring the depths of solitude, femininity, and creative expression through striking inked works.
Welcome to The Baram House, Mr. Sivan Karim! Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m an artist and illustrator based in Berlin, Germany. After earning my Bachelor of Arts degree, I decided to give social media a go and started to show my artworks to a wider audience. Since then I was able to create my own illustrations and work with different brands and magazines.
Tell us a little bit about your artistic journey. When did you start drawing and what enabled you to continue your art until now?
Art has been a passion of mine ever since I can remember. I started drawing when I was very young and never really lost interest in art as I kept trying new techniques and practiced a lot. When I finished school I moved to London and was sure that I wanted to study art/illustration, however London is quite expensive so the best alternative for me was Berlin, so I moved here around 2012-13 and was able to keep doing art. As mentioned before, social media is a huge reason I’m able to do art until now, so I hope I’ll still be able to share my visions and continue with my art in the future.
How did you find and settle on ink as your preferred choice of medium?
Ink was actually not my first preferred choice of medium, I started with pencil drawings (guess a lot of artists started that way). When I tried ink for the very first time, I was really surprised how beautiful the pigmentation was. I looked up several artists who worked with ink and was blown away by the black and white composition and simplicity.
To be honest, during my studies I was not really able to develop my “own artistic style,” most professors had their own view on art and that did not make it easy for me to feel confident sticking with ink and drawing only in black and white. However to this day I love ink and pigment liners and it’s my way of expression, so I think it was not a bad choice after all.
Most of your works center around women and feminine bodies that are alone, together, or transforming. Where and how do you find your inspiration and motivations?
Women have been a source of inspiration for hundreds of years, their body languages, strength but also vulnerability is just fascinating. I’m very happy most women understand the intention behind my work: that I want them to feel empowered, understood, and appreciated. Growing up I was mostly spending time with my mum, she worked part-time, did the household, and raised two kids. I admire her strength so much and feel like a lot of women are under-appreciated for all the things they do. So, most of my artworks are about women going through everyday lives visualized from a male perspective.
Your illustrations do a wonderful job playing with the boundary between the human body and nature. How is your personal relationship to nature reflected in your work?
One of my illustrations is called “I Am Nature” and this is exactly how I feel. We are all part of nature and we can only survive if we treat our environment with respect and caution. I was in South America for the very first time last year, the nature was just breathtaking and you just felt so relaxed within seconds, I don’t remember if I had any thoughts or worries when I walked around the jungle, I was enjoying the time and was breathing the fresh air. Drawing different elements of nature became a big part of my artworks. I want to show the connection between human beings and nature and how beautiful all of its facets can be.
What does “Home” mean for your and your art?
Home is where I can be myself and feel comfortable like nowhere else. I worked very hard to be able to afford a nice apartment as I mostly work from home, I wanted it to be cozy and bright, also I wanted many plants as Berlin is quite grey in the winter, therefore I can see a little bit of green at least. This year during the lockdown I just felt grateful to have a home and appreciated my place even more. I started the series ‘Staying Home’ which was basically about certain rooms in an apartment where one feels comfortable and spends their time while either taking a bath, doing home office, sleep, et cetera. It was filled with many little details which was quite the contrast from previous works.
How do you manage to balance your time as an artist, between creating and sharing?
It’s honestly very difficult. I try to create and share as much as possible, but I have many other things to do as well. I get many emails, so I try to get back to most business related ones as quickly as possible, then I work on commissions too, have zoom meetings, work on online shop updates etc. But it’s fun after all, especially creating new artworks of course and seeing people’s reactions.
What challenges have you faced as a result of putting yourself out there as a freelance artist?
The most challenging one is that artworks are being used by big brands or small brands for their products without permission. Luckily my followers get in touch with me pretty fast once they see something suspicious. The problem is, that it takes time to find a solution and of course it’s very tiring being involved, calling a lawyer, reaching out to the brands etc. I have had several brands stealing my work for their products and I can’t thank my followers enough for their support via social media, I just feel so grateful that I’m connected to so many people around the world through art, I couldn’t have made it without them. Other than that, I enjoy social media.
How has Society 6 worked for you as a business platform? Do you have other desired business outlets for your work?
Society6 was a good start for me to sell prints to my audience. I can’t say that I know of any artist who’d be able to make a living from selling prints on there, but it’s a little income for sure. I stopped promoting the site a while ago and started to sell prints and other products myself. I usually open the shop over the weekend or even a week and then send all orders and restock some best selling products again. I think other business outlets don’t really have as much of an audience as Society6 (but maybe I’m wrong). I just never really focused on selling my prints on several sites with different prices (all sites are basically profiting from artists, so I’d recommend artists to sell their own products).
Thank you for joining us! We look forward to keeping up with your work.
Thank you very much for reaching out and your interest in my art!
Sivan Karim is a Berlin-based artist, who is well known for his dependence on contrast, both in approach and concept, as simple lines beautifully withhold an increasingly intricate offering. His inspirations of nature, dreams and personal experiences, predominantly telling a story to which viewers can relate. You can purchase prints of his work here.