Riding high from the success of his Kickstarter campaign, “The Ghastly Lenormand From the Grave,” and celebrating multiple wins at the 2024 TABI CARTA Awards, I had the opportunity to speak with creator and artist Andrea Aste about his journey and passion.
Congratulations on the overwhelming success of the Ghastly Lenormand From the Grave! Can you walk us through your creative process when designing this? Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Ah, inspiration! The Muses always whisper in your ear at the craziest moments —whether you’re in the shower, cooking, or walking your dog, and always when there’s nothing around to write it all down! This time, I met my muse while wandering around Père Lachaise, the famous monumental cemetery in Paris. Among many famous people, it is the resting place of Jim Morrison, Chopin, and Madame Lenormand.
I discovered her tomb by chance, spotting her name while I was distractedly meandering around, amazed by the art: sculptures, bronze statues, family tombs mimicking buildings in various styles —gothic, neoclassic, deco, in a triumph of spikes and onion domes. Quite a place! The tombstone was covered with decks, cards, and messages. While I was observing them, a woman clad in black, in a very gothic-Victorian style, approached the grave. We had a nice chat, and I discovered a fascinating legend.
They say that if you leave your Lenormand deck on her tombstone for the night, Madame will charge it with her power! My fantasy started to run wild! I imagined Madame reaching out from the grave, asking me to complete her deck because it was meant to have 52 cards, but she was unable to complete it during her life (reason why we had a Lenormand deck with only 36 cards!). A simple idea… and I started to illustrate Madame as a happy and beautiful corpse. As a joke, I printed it and framed it, and my mind exploded!
I immediately envisioned an eerie and macabre deck with a vein of dark humour. I had a clear vision of a coffin-shaped box holding coffin-shaped cards. Very often, it happens like that; I glimpse vivid and suggestive images of things that I then summon into real life, like a sorcerer. I experimented with cardboard, drawing a couple of cards with possible graphics, testing the ideas, and then, day by day, week after week, the deck was done!
Can you describe your journey from being a multimedia artist to an acclaimed tarot card creator? What inspired you to explore tarot in your work?
In all my work, I delve into fantasy and magic, weaving reality and fiction together to create parallel worlds where everything is mysterious, magical, enchanted, and dangerous. I use imagination to explore and better understand our reality. Through animation, graphic novels, short stories, art and illustration, I craft alternative, vivid realities detailed enough to be mistaken for factual. My decks are no exception. They are integral to my narratives. I tell stories of magic and alchemy, multidimensional creatures and secret sects, with tales revolving around tarot cards. Creating these decks is part of the process of making these worlds more realistic.
I love tarot and their symbology, placing them at the centre of many of my works. I have studied tarot for many years and used them frequently for storytelling and divination. Tarot has been a part of my life from the beginning. My mother was a sensitive and a tarot reader, and magical things always happened in our house. It felt like living in a twilight zone, a liminal space where the ghosts of our ancestors would visit, and tarot cards were indeed magical portals opening toward the space-time continuum.
How do you integrate your background in philosophy of language and computer science into your art, especially in projects like The Lost Code of Tarot?
I think it is the way my mind works: everything is connected. There are no separations between different fields of knowledge. You cannot discuss tarot without exploring its symbols and meanings, delving into history, semantics, philosophy, sociology, and more. Everything is intertwined. Consider a leaf on a tree. From this simple object, you can explore biology, chemistry, physics, and then mathematics by analyzing its fractal structure. From there, you can delve into model theory and non-Euclidean geometries. You can also examine how different cultures at different times used and represented that leaf in various forms of art. This is how my mind operates: hyperconnectivity! And this leads to an explosion of creativity!
“The Book of Shadows: The Lost Code of Tarot” and its evolution, “The Book of Shadows: An Alchemist’s Stories,” are explorations of a fascinating question: What if tarot were invented by a mysterious and powerful alchemist? The answer lies in the creation of a parallel world where historical facts are woven with fiction. These projects are unique multimedia experiences that include a graphic novel, a book of magic, a feature film with animations, and two tarot decks.
For these projects, I delved deeply into my passions for mysteries, ciphers, ancient books, and, above all, alchemy, tarot, and magic. This holistic approach allows me to explore and express a multitude of connections, resulting in richly detailed and imaginative creations.
What role does alchemy play in your artistic creations, and how do you incorporate it into your tarot and graphic novel works?
Alchemy is the ability to mix different elements to create something magical, powerful, and enchanted. Psychologically speaking, alchemy is a metaphor for the process through which we create and discover ourselves, freeing our imagination to reach its full potential. For me, alchemy is a modus operandi, a way of working. Creating is an alchemical process where I mix different media and technologies, blending elements from various fields of knowledge and reality into a unique form. My “philosopher’s stone” is my work.
Long ago, I started calling my laboratory “the Alchemist’s Tower” as a joke, but over time it became more and more real. My studio is indeed a strange and magical place, filled with props from my films, my art, and the crazy objects I’ve created. It’s like a set for a very… strange film!
I love the Oracolarium deck so much! I thought it’s really an innovative idea that features augmented reality animations. What challenges did you face in merging traditional art with modern technology, and how did you overcome them?
Oracolarium was a project I had envisioned for a long time and finally realized when I moved to London. Animation is always a challenge due to its nature: it doesn’t consume time, it devours it! But creating a deck that comes to life with augmented reality when viewed through a mobile application was incredibly challenging. I had to study how the application worked and find a way to bend it to my will. I wanted the animation to extend beyond the confines of the card and into the surrounding space. I managed to achieve this, but I had to find my own way.
The biggest challenge, perhaps, was to squeeze a story into just a few seconds and make it strong and captivating. I wanted the animation to add another level of meaning, deeper and more visual. However, each animation file had to be very light and very short because all the animations of the Augmented Reality are downloaded via the internet in real time while you watch them. I conducted many tests and finally found the right format for the story, deciding to mix photography and my illustrations. This mixed media technique created a very strange and unique mood, making it seem as if each character in the card was living in a theatrical painted set—an idea that fascinated me from the beginning.
I love silent films, and I have to say Metropolis and The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari) were incredibly interesting sources of inspiration with their cinematic, surreal, and poetic sets.
Are there any new projects or collaborations you are currently working on that you can share with us?
There are many things boiling in my magical cauldron right now. Some of them are secrets, including a few powerful collaborations with incredibly famous and talented wizards and witches to co-author and illustrate new decks. I am also contemplating putting together my knowledge and writing a book on tarot card meanings and directional readings—something I have been asked to do for a while.
Beyond the world of tarot, I am considering taking “Mind The Kraken and Other Curious Creatures”, the illustrated book I wrote about mythological creatures I found around the world, and animating it into a series. Additionally, I would like to continue working on The Ghastly Lenormand, adding more magic and fun to this most ominous deck now live on Kickstarter. This could include interactive exhibitions of its art, animations, and some absolutely crazy ideas I am toying with! You will see!
What future trends or technologies in the art world are you most excited about, and how do you plan to incorporate them into your work?
I would like to return to the stage with live animation screenings, where I create animations directly on the spot. It is an incredibly intense experience and a technique I have developed, which might soon lead me to collaborate with an amazing trio for a musical show I am eager to create. Additionally, I want to experiment with AI, blending my style with this pioneering technique. AI has incredible potential if used correctly and ethically.
Currently, there are many debates about its legitimacy, which is understandable since it is a new field that needs regulation to ensure artists are not deprived of their style and the ability to continue working. AI should be a tool to enhance our creativity, not a means to replace us. Unfortunately, I often see it being misused.
How did your childhood experiences in Argentina and Italy shape your artistic vision and interests?
My childhood in both countries was vibrant and magical, each in its own way, due to living with different families. In Buenos Aires, I stayed with my great-grandparents and great-aunts, while in Italy, I lived with my parents. The climates, languages, and lifestyles were vastly different. I absorbed elements from both the South American and South Mediterranean worlds, and this blend of cultures is reflected in my soul.
The most important lesson from my childhood is not being attached to any specific nation, culture, or language. I feel the world is my home… I cannot be confined to any one nation. I have always despised nationalism and its consequences—borders, xenophobia, protectionism—products of a narrow-minded mentality that builds tall walls out of fear of the different. We live in a world that has never been so interconnected, and the challenges we face need to be tackled as humanity, not as separate nations. We are better than that. I have never let nationality define my values or who I am.
I am a cultural omnivore. Everything different attracts me. I have moved and lived in many cities and countries, cherishing my freedom and collaborating with people from diverse fields. I enjoy talking with people from various cultures, exploring and discovering similarities and differences. An Argentinian poet and songwriter, Atahualpa Yupanqui, wrote a song that mirrors my way of living:
Yo tengo tantos hermanos
Que no los puedo contar
En el valle, la montaña
En la pampa y en el mar
Cada cual con sus trabajos
Con sus sueños, cada cual
Con la esperanza adelante
Con los recuerdos detrás
—
Yo tengo tantos hermanos
Que no los puedo contar
Y una novia muy hermosa
Que se llama ¡Libertad!*
*I have so many brothers
That I can’t count them
In the valley, the mountain
In the pampas and in the sea
Each one with their jobs
With their dreams, each one
With hope ahead
With memories behind
—
I have so many brothers
That I can’t count them
And a very beautiful bride
Named freedom
What advice would you give to aspiring artists who want to explore multimedia and blend traditional techniques with modern technology?
I have just one piece of advice: explore, discover, experiment, and create! Art should be playful, at least in the creative process. So, I encourage you to play! Don’t overthink the result; it will come in its own time. There is magic in creating for the sheer pleasure of doing it.
When I began my journey in the art world, I started by painting with oil colours on canvas. I knew nothing, but I felt a strong urge to start. I approached a dear friend of mine, an art teacher, and asked for lessons. At that time, I had never done any art before and was entirely focused on my Philosophy studies at university. She handed me her brushes, showed me where the colours were, and simply said: “Paint!” That was the best advice I could have received.
Technique is important, but focusing too much on it can make you rigid, leading you to repeat what you’ve been taught rather than exploring and finding your own voice. That initial advice was crucial, and I would give the same advice to anyone starting out. I am a self-taught artist who had to study and develop my style across various disciplines—from illustrating to animation, filming and directing, to writing and illustrating graphic novels. So, trust yourself and start creating!
Andrea’s The Ghastly Lenormand From the Grave campaign is still available on Kickstarter. Find out more about Andrea’s work at www.andreaaste.co.uk and shop at www.andreaaste.world.
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