Oriens Tarot

Ambi Sun

Tells us a little bit about yourself:

I’m a Melbourne based artist born in Malaysia! I’ve love drawing and storytelling since I was a child and I always knew this was going to be my future calling. I used to work full time as a Graphic Designer, but these days, I mainly run my own online shop selling a tarot deck that I’ve illustrated and published along with doing freelance work.

What are the key tools of your trade that you couldn’t live without?

I can’t live without my sketchbook and pencil. Despite finishing my works digitally, a lot of my thought process is planned out traditionally. I find it a lot easier to think about ideas and concepts when I can sketch freely on paper and reflect on all the ideas at once.

What are your biggest inspirations?

I’m in love with Victo Ngai. Her illustration is just brilliant and her use of concepts and colors are out of this world. I’m also a big fan of Shaun Tan. There’s something so mysterious and surreal about his works, they just manage to draw you in and touch something in your heart.

What do you listen to while you work? Fave music or podcasts?

I love listening to podcasts or audiobooks. One of my fave podcast is the No Sleep podcast. There’s something about being slightly terrified that makes me work a little better.

How do your ideas about feminism influence your art?

My style tends to lean towards the androgynous as it’s neither extremely feminine or masculine. It’s probably a close reflection of myself as I tend to embrace both feminine and masculine qualities.

Tell us about a time in your creative career that you have been most proud of.

Last year, I launched The Oriens Tarot on Kickstarted and was able to surpass my funding goals by 800% securing $124,000+ for my project. This was done without any use of external advertising and purely through word of mouth. I was ecstatic with the result and extremely grateful that so many people have chosen to support my project. As someone who was told a lot that my artwork was mediocre at best, and belittled for spending almost all of my free time working on this ‘pointless’ project, it’s extremely validating to have the support of so many, proving that my efforts were not in vain.

Who are some of the women in your life that inspire you the most?

My best friend Ginger is one of the most inspiring people I’ve met in my life. She’s constantly going out of the way to create communities and events that is beneficial to the community around her. Her dedication to ensure her work brings values to others and ethical moral values is admirable and I don’t think I would have had the confidence in doing half the things I did if it wasn’t for her.