I like to imagine that a stroll through the mind of Australian-Indonesian mixed media artist Xhanthi would be like a trip into Wonderland if the Mad Hatter was Tim Burton and the Red Queen was Lisa Frank. Around every bend there’s another pastel dreamscape interspersed with playful touches of the macabre, every landscape overflowing with fun and surprises. While her work ranges across mediums and defies traditional labels, she’s best known for her 3D portraiture–tiny cameos of characters from fiction and her own imagination brought to life in illuminating detail.

In our wide ranging conversation about her art and inspirations, Xhanthi let me in on a few of the behind-the-scenes secrets to her magic starting with the alluring play of two seemingly disparate elements: the eerie and the angelic. This combination is a recurring theme in her hand-painted wonderland of cameos and creatures.

“It’s the wildly varying sides of my personality coming together,” she explains. “I love all things dark and creepy, but I adore over the top cuteness just as much, so bringing the two together is really just a natural progression for me.”...

Read on in I, Endedunna Issue 3: In Our Hands, available here.