YoYo Nasty, also known as Johanna Welinder, is a Stockholm-based artist and illustrator who works with painting, exploring fantasy flowers and emotionally charged characters. She has exhibited her work as far as South Korea, China, and Mexico. Trickster is delighted to have YoYo and her art in our Illustrators Series!
Your first drawings as a kid?
Animals, fantasy characters, fake magazines, imaginary maps. World-building before I knew the word.
Is illustration a tool or an art form, and why?
Drawing is a visual language that predates writing. I find that very interesting. It’s emotional and endlessly adaptable.
What do you think about when you draw?
Movement. Music. Urgency. Painting is choreography with colour, an instinctive release of energy.
How did you find your style?
Creativity is about searching, not finding. I stay curious, so the work can stay interesting.
Color or line?
Color is everything. It’s the first decision I make, and it drives the whole composition. I just start with one or two colors and react from there. It’s very physical and intuitive. I’m interested in tension, in combinations that feel a bit ‘off’ but still harmonious.
Character or situation?
Character. They’re my emotional stand-ins. Symbolic, stubborn, sometimes ridiculous. They move between the playful and the existential, like actors in a play I never fully script.
Practice or talent?
Obsession.
Your favourite artists in general? It could be anyone from any art field! Why these?
I discovered performance artist Leigh Bowery during my fashion studies, and he’s still a touchstone—a reminder to mix humour, excess, and fearless self-invention.
Your favourite illustrators? Name at least 3.
I don’t really separate illustration from painting, so I'd like to share three contemporary artists I absolutely adore: Katherine Bernhardt, Christina Quarles, and Misaki Kawai.
Your favourite places in the world?
My bed. Paris. And anywhere I can immerse myself in nature.
Advice for beginners?
Be delusional and relentless.
What do you need to have a productive workday?
To-do lists keep me sane, coffee keeps me moving.
Do you think of drawing as work or as fun?
Yes. They’re not separate.
Have you ever been stuck creatively, and how have you dealt with it?
Creative block isn’t a stop sign. It’s an invitation to go further. Discomfort keeps the work alive.
Please make a little drawing of Trickster as a fantasy character!
I'd like to share this painting of some slightly unhinged butterflies smoking a ciggie and sipping dry martini.