We got in touch with Nicolas for the first time around 4 years ago, on the onset of the publication of his popular Somnia Tarot. Since then this deck has been a staple of our tarot collection, and our customers were astonished by its beauty. The major and minor arcana are all created through

photography and have all a deep emotional value, a mix of surrealism and psychology. We spoke to Nicolas and asked him all about his connection with Tarot and the idea behind his deck.
Your story with Tarot: can you tell us more?
My first exposure to Tarot began in my childhood. While exploring the storage room of my grandmother’s basement, I stumbled upon my great-grandmother Yia-yia’s Tarot deck, hidden among various old toys and antiques. Due to familial superstition, I was forbidden to touch the cards. Being a child captivated by curiosity, I would look through them as soon as my grandmother returned upstairs. This memory stuck with me and became the catalyst for The Somnia Tarot, where I merged my love for photography, sculpture, and dream symbolism into a modern reinterpretation of the Tarot.
You mentioned on your website: Nightmares to Art – A Therapeutic Process. Was The Somnia Tarot a catalyst for your personal growth?
Transforming my nightmares into art has been a profoundly therapeutic experience. As someone who has struggled with sleep paralysis since childhood, being able to confront my fears through art has helped me overcome the difficult aspects of my sleep disorder. By transmuting my dreams into artwork, I am able to spread awareness of sleep paralysis and help others start their journey of using art as therapy. The process of creating The Somnia

Tarot put my skills to the test, where I implemented all of the mediums that I’ve honed over the years, such as photography, sculpture, and costume design. By modelling for the male characters within the series, I was able to live through portions of the Tarot, such as swimming under twilight for ‘The Moon’, or suspending myself upside-down for ‘The Hanged Man’. By creating seventy-eight images over the span of one year, I was able to shatter the limitations I had previously imposed on myself and redefine the boundaries of my creative expression.
A lot of your imagery invokes the feeling of eerie and uncanny: what is your theory of the eerie in your aesthetic?
In my creative process, I deliberately blend surrealism with stark realism. The feeling brought forth by each image mirrors the experience of sleep paralysis, where it is difficult to discern what is real and what is conjured by the dream. In the medium of surreal photography, I feel that it is important to ground the artwork in realism; otherwise, the image may drift into the genres of digital art or fantasy. My goal is to bring my viewers into the world between conscious and subconscious, where our intuition becomes a guide to self-discovery. I hope that my art inspires others to create a deep connection with their own dreams, resulting in healing and personal growth.
In the Tarot, why did you decide to cover up your characters’ faces?
By obscuring the faces of the characters, I invite viewers to project themselves in each artwork. The anonymous nature of the characters allows the archetypes of the Tarot to speak more clearly, where distinct faces may distract us from being fully immersed in the series. In

relation to sleep paralysis, the spirits that I encounter are often faceless, which I’ve chosen to reflect within the body of work.
What is your personal experience of sleep paralysis? Is the deck a reflection of what you experienced?
Sleep paralysis has been a recurring and challenging experience for the majority of my life. Each dream is filled with vivid hallucinations and an overwhelming sense of terror. My episodes often feature shadowy figures and hyper-real sensory anomalies. In this liminal space between waking and sleeping, I’ve found an immense inspiration to document what I see. Many years of journal entries became the foundation of The Somnia Tarot series, where dream symbolism is interwoven with the complex themes of the Tarot.
Aside from the classic Rider-Waite, who else inspired you? And who are your references in regard to photography and sculpture?
Beyond the Rider-Waite deck, I’ve drawn inspiration from painters from the Romanticism

movement, allegorical emblems, esoteric texts, my Greek Orthodox upbringing, as well as the superstitions passed down from my great-grandmother. A few of my favourite artists are Caspar David Friedrich, John Atkinson Grimshaw, Rene Magritte, and Francisco De Goya. I also find ample inspiration in video game series such as The Legend of Zelda and the Dragon Quest series.
Do you think creating this deck healed a side of you that needed to be voiced?
This collection of work allowed me to branch from my personal compositions and join a history of artists who have pursued the tradition of Tarot through their own art. Through the creation of The Somnia Tarot, I have developed a deeper connection with the archetypes that frame the human experience, as well as connect with a community of creatives that seek to explore the mysteries of the subconscious.
You can purchase both the illustrated and photographic editions of the Somnia Tarot in-store or online in our webshop.
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