Hi! My name is Pāku Peither. I grew up in the black forest in germany and have an academic background in computational neurobiology. While I love science, I have also always done art in one form or another. However, it really took over my life with the start of the new year of 2024. I set out to create one piece of art for every day of that year.It was a year filled with its own set of wins and set-backs, but I managed to succeed and created over 390 works of art! Through this process I found my visual language and style and got to know myself in a whole new way.
I embraced the idea of becoming an artist once I realised I don't have to be good at 'still life' painting to be an legitimate artist. My work reflects the way I see the world and how I would like to see it. It's what comes most natural to me when I pick up a pen or brush. I hope others can sense that joy and state of Flow when they see my work. I want to connect to people by making things made from intuition, an appreciation for aesthetics and composition and to make people wonder: "what does it mean?"
After taking my first steps towards embracing the creative forces within me, things started to happen. Slowly at first like sharing my work with friends, things started to pick up steam: a live mural painting during an event, first a small one, then a bigger one, then another one, and another one. You can relive two of these events here and here.
Then I came across a post by Artcrush & BIC, they had an open call and I had nothing to loose. It’s a long and very fun story, but one thing led to another and I found myself the winner of a public voting process with 40% of the votes. I had somehow gotten myself not just a Nation-wide public exibition in the netherlands, but also a limited edition BIC lighter bearing my artwork. The whole thing was a pretty wild experience to be honest, and it showed me very clearly that this is what I am here for: to create.
However, I still had a bachelor to finish at the time and a thesis to write. not about art, but astrocytes, and investigating through simulations how they contribute to neural processing in the Brain; truly fascinating stuff! but it was something that required all my energy and attention. creating code took precedence over creating art in order to graduate.
and now? Now it’s time for a break. a real one. from everything. a break from studying and reading papers all day, a break from the city i lived in for three years, a break from work. I wanted to see more of the world, now that i had my degree and I was free to go anywhere I wished. and so that’s what i’m doing.
Among many places I spent six weeks at ‘Down Town’ in Palmela, Portugal, An art residency where I got to experiment with things like stone carving or a clay wheel. it was also the place where i tried videography by documenting a photography workshop by Matthieu Paley. These experiences expanded my creative toolset and showed me that there are many many ways of making.
I am still on my adventure, it will be a while before I settle down. During this time I may be sharing inconstently, but I am creating constantly; new experiences, new connections, new mistakes and with that also new insights. all things that you can’t frame and hang on a wall. for the time of this year, this is the creative practice I am devoted to. though of course I haven’t abandoned muraling or painting. It’s just the season of taking in, instead of putting out.
If you are curious to see more of my work in the future then I am grateful for your interest!! you’ll only have to be patient for just a little longer ;) to make the time pass faster in the meantime, you can check out a tiny selection of what I have done so far below!
