How Canadian Pop Icon Lights Switched on Her Creativity As a Visual Artist

Lights has one of the most recognizable voices—and heads of hair—in the Canadian music industry. For well over a decade, the multi-Juno Award-winning pop icon has been cranking out incredibly catchy radio hits. (Remember 2009’s ‘Drive My Soul?’ Yeah, well you’ll be humming it all day now.)

What you may not know about the pint-sized/big-voiced synth-pop sensation, however, is that she is a highly skilled visual artist. Before headlining last month’s NXNE festival, Lights put on her first-ever art exhibition, Finding Your Power: Skin & Earth. The 15-piece show showcased blown-up drawings that fans of Lights likely recognize: each was selected from the comic book she created in conjunction with her last album, Skin & Earth.

The jump from musician to comic book creator is surely an intimidating one. But Lights maintains that when it comes to creativity, you need to be fearless. Here are her tips for switching on your own inner artist.

What’s it like seeing your art put on display in such a big way?

This is the first time having my art on exhibition in any manner other than within a comic book. I mean, I drew all this in a little tablet. It certainly gives you this feeling of validation as an artist. I think most people—especially with their art—are insecure. I mean, I’ve been insecure for years. Most people know me as a musician, but I’ve been an artist for as long as I’ve been a musician. 

I think putting yourself on display like this is really hard for most people.

It’s hard for a lot of people to show what they have and what they want to say, because every piece of art has a message. This is all about getting people to find their power, and just do it.

What’s it like, once you make that leap?

It’s really empowering. I’ve been performing for ten years and I’m still blown away by what I’m capable of. It’s pretty cool.

Did your fame as a musician make it harder for you to share your art? Or did having an already established audience give you more confidence as an artist? I can see how it could go either way.

I think it’s hard for people to accept that someone can do more than one form of art. In the past, people would say, “oh you’re an actor, you can’t be a musician,” or vice versa. But I think art, if you’re a true creative, comes in so many different forms. I just had to shun all of those expectations and just do what I love.

I think I was lucky to have a platform, and I was able to tie this in with who I am as a musician. This all ties in with the record. This month, the graphic novel comes out and it has scannable QR codes that lead you to micro sites with music. It’s all-encompassing art. Totally immersive. Honestly, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen anything like that. I’m able to use my platform to show off more of what I’m capable of. Not a lot of people have that, right? I got lucky.

When you started all this, did you set out to create something completely new? Something no one else has ever done before?

I think that was part of it. We’ve seen comics and music matched in a few circumstances, like with Coheed and Cambria, with the Gorillaz. But there are no women doing this—and nobody in general doing it to this degree. It’s always been something I’ve dreamed of seeing as a fan of comics and music.

What it really comes down to is having an idea tied in with having experience. That’s what it takes to pull the project off. It was a lot of work. I drew and wrote and lettered and coloured this entire project. It took two years. I think it started out as a 25-page thing, and then it evolved into 170 pages. I was so invested in the characters, the way the songs would tell that story, and how the colours would convey the mood and the message. It just brought out the best in me. It was like the floodgates for creativity opened, and now I write and create and draw more than I ever have. I just hope more people can discover that ability to just be fearless about their art.

Is there something that happened in your life that turned on your creativity switch? How would you advise other people to turn that switch on in their own lives?

Creativity is hard. I feel like we spend our entire lives trying to achieve it. With my last record, I was facing insane writer’s block and it was really hard to squeeze out creativity. Then I had a kid. I’m not saying everyone needs to have a kid to experience this, but it allowed me to take away the pressure I put on myself.

You have to do it because you love it, and you have to be fearless about it. Do the things you always dreamed of, because this life is short. So why not just live your best expression of yourself? That’s what freed me. You have to be fearless to be able to create. The more you create, the more you will unlock all those doors.

With your art, did you feel like you were doing this for yourself? Or did you have something that you felt needed to be shared? That there was something missing in the creative space, and you knew how to fill it?

It was 50/50. Half the time I was feeling proud of my skill. I’m doing this for myself. It doesn’t matter if no one likes it. I love it.

And then when I was like, this is sick, people are going to learn from it. This whole story is actually a metaphor for myself. It’s about going through dark times and reaching this light at the end of the tunnel. But there’s no way to find your strength unless you experience those dark times. I think people wrongfully look at their dark times as a weakness, or like this smudge in their past. But that’s actually just part of your amazing story that makes you find who you are.

Your art feels very personal. It’s very authentic. Do you feel like other artists are sometimes co-opting this wokeness around mental health, sexuality, politics, feminism—all these issues that are suddenly very mainstream?

Oh yeah, it happens all the time. But I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Music corporations are jumping in on these issues because they’re the hot thing to talk about. But you know, it’s all contributing to the cause, whether or not it’s from an authentic place. Maybe it’s okay that people are faking their authenticity with issues that matter.

Lights is a guest judge for Bombay Sapphire’s 2018 Artisan Series. The annual art competition seeks to inspire creativity, and gives winners the opportunity to showcase their work at SCOPE Miami Beach, one of the largest global art fairs in the world. Submissions close July 11.

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