How One Artist’s Playlist Inspired Her Art: Meet Modern Cubist Painter Zoey (Feel the Vibe) Singh

By Al Gord

Self-taught modern artist Zoey Singh (aka Feel the Vibe) was born in Auckland, New Zealand. She is of Samoan, Mongolian and Indian Descent. Having studied architecture at the University of Auckland Zoey is putting her studies to practice working as an architectural designer. However, painting is something Zoey has enjoyed her entire life and something that she believes is important to incorporate into her day, even with her busy schedule.

The earliest memory Zoey can recall is drawing in her family’s house, at the early age of two. Transitioning to school, Zoey had an amazing art teacher who really pushed Zoey to embrace her passion for art, to keep creating and to find her true style. Because of this Zoey continued to draw and paint throughout her university studies, making regular time to enjoy her passion and to find balance in her busy academic life. The pieces created were gifted to family and friends for birthdays and Christmas. For Zoey this was a hint of future things to come.

Influenced by legendary artists Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Goh and Jean-Michael Basquiat, Zoey describes her work as Modern Cubism. Filled with bold and vibrant colours, and inspired by her diverse cultural background and traditions, Zoey creates powerful imagery. Using either acrylic or oil paint, Zoey enjoys using simple colour palettes to create contrasting, passionate works based on inspiration from her past and present, as well as her future hopes. Her final products are busy pieces with multiple cubist images that pull the viewer into her work.

Impassioned by her very vivid dreams Zoey’s paintings are a natural way to share the ideas that come from her dreamscapes. Keeping a dream journal kept next to her bed, she collects her ideas in the morning, giving her inspiration for future pieces.

While painting is a way to share her dreams, creating was also an outlet to deal with a difficult time in her life. Over the last two years on her healing journey, family and friends have encouraged Zoey to take a leap of faith and make her work public. By selling her art professionally, those in Zoey’s life believe that others can benefit from her creations, while Zoey can continue to do what she loves. Even though the Pandemic has brought a lot of uncertainty into the world, it has offered her the chance to really indulge and explore what she is most passionate about – art.

In conjunction with painting, music was her way of healing. Music is part of Zoey’s soul, she listens to it from the moment she wakes up, until she heads to bed for then night. During her challenging period, she created a Spotify playlist entitled “Feel the Vibe”. As her journey of life is continuing the Spotify playlist is a reminder to Zoey that people can overcome anything, and everything in life happens for people, not to people. As she is constantly learning and evolving, Zoey strongly believes that her experiences have made her who she is today. For that, she is forever grateful. Strengthened by the playlist that helped Zoey overcome a difficult time, she opted to use the same name for her artist moniker, as a tribute to the strength she derives from both her art and her music.

Tribal Instincts

As her journey of life continues, her “playlist” is a reminder that she can overcome anything, and that everything in life happens for her, not to her. Enjoying the experience of constantly learning and evolving Zoey believes her experiences have made her who she is today, something for which she is forever grateful. Her ongoing journey can be seen via her Instagram page.