Portrait of an artist: the playful nostalgia of Lowkey Lyss

Buzz, click. Lowkey reached down and switched on the light extruding from the face of PPG HOTLINE. The wall hanging sculpture resembles a vintage Fisher-Price Chatter Phone and features a rubbery coiled phone cord that moves when touched. The phone’s cheerful face, illuminated by its shining lightbulb nose, reflected the morning light that streamed in through the windows of the space.

This is artist Lowkey Lyss’ home studio. Located in an apartment complex in Decatur, it offers polished concrete floors and tall white walls, perfect for showcasing the artist’s ever-expanding array of wall-hanging sculptures. One area that might traditionally house a dining table is equipped as a mini-studio with a large workstation surrounded by lights. An oversized woodcut of a watch still in progress sat propped up on the surface, while other pieces in various stages of completion lined nearby surfaces and walls. 

Lowkey Lyss (they/them) describes their work, for lack of a better term, as pop art. Using hand-cut and painted wood which is then coated in resin and accented by LED lighting elements, Lowkey crafts nostalgic pieces that evoke fond memories from childhood.

Infused with humor, Lowkey’s works often mash together different genres or references in one piece. One such work, ASTRO X WOODY, is a combination of Woody from Toy Story with the face of famous comic book character Astro Boy. In another, PATRICK X BUU, Sponge Bob’s Patrick Star dons the garb of Majin Buu from Dragon Ball Z. The works are playful, interactive, nostalgic and increasingly tech-driven. 

“I’m inspired by anything that feels nostalgic and inherently American media,” said Lowkey. “It’s universal — everybody knows it, pinpoints it and can connect with it.”

Central to Lowkey’s work is a deep and lasting love for their late mother, also an artist, who inspired Lowkey to pursue art since they were a child. “I’ve been drawing my whole life.” Lowkey recalled drawing “doodles in class and stuff like that. I thought it was just a natural thing that everybody could do; I had seen my mom do it, and I could do it, too.” 

Growing up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Lowkey’s mother liked to airbrush popular cartoons on T-shirts, featuring characters from Super Mario Bros and The Simpsons and the like. “I think that actually really influenced me because I wanted to be like her, but do it my own way. Sometimes, I do still use her air compressor,” Lowkey reminisced. Following their mother’s sudden passing in August of 2024, the love of art that they shared has become even more personal for Lowkey. 

At the time, Lowkey was working on a series of balloon sculptures and had recently picked up a Mylar balloon from the grocery store just for fun. It reads “You’re so special,” a phrase that their mother often said to Lowkey. Soon after, when learning of their mother’s passing, that balloon became especially symbolic. It now resides — deflated but in a place of pride — on the side of their fridge. 

In addition to the nostalgic elements of their works, Lowkey also has an affinity for adding tangible elements as a way to connect with early memories that are often tied to sensory experiences. On the sculptural balloons, for example, the strings attached to the sculptures could be made of just about anything, but instead they used the very same strings that you would get with the purchase of a regular helium balloon in a store. 

“With my balloons, I could have just done a balloon with a straight balloon and resin, but [I enjoy] giving you something to feel, too, like the string; things that are movable,” said Lowkey. “When you think back to certain things from your childhood, a lot of it is sensory.” On the works that include an LED lighting element, Lowkey enjoys that the owner can customize the piece by changing the backlights. 

“There’s more to your space than the walls,” said Lowkey, as we discussed the other fun design choices reflected in their housewares and accessories. Next to the couch rests a massive traffic light with a basketball-turned-plant plot perched on top. Painted BE@RBRICK Sculptures, a box of specialty KAWS-themed Reese’s Puffs cereal preserved in an acrylic box and oversized LEGO bricks occupy a table nearby. Just inside the front door is a Mortal Kombat arcade game, and around the corner, a vintage Gameboy sits propped next to a selection of collectible zines.   

“I love walls because I love filling them up, but, when it comes to your space and your home, there’s so much other art to it,” they continued. “Half of the pieces that I have found I customized.” As an empath, Lowkey has a distinct need for surroundings that evoke happiness. “Those little things, I don’t know, they make you happy. Every part of your home should make you feel something. I want to make things that you could look at in every corner and see something that brings you comfort.” 

Before moving to Atlanta in 2017, Lowkey attended Broward College in the Miami metropolitan area in pursuit of an IT degree. Ultimately, the program left Lowkey unsatisfied and they withdrew from classes. 

“Something was missing,” said Lowkey. “One day I just decided to paint and just do it. It made me feel better — and whole — so I just kept doing it daily.” 

In those days, Lowkey wasn’t yet online, so to speak. With no social media accounts outside of a Tumblr which they used to track their own progress as an artist, Lowkey was surprised to learn that Complex Magazine had reposted one of their works on Instagram.

“It got a lot of feedback and comments,” said Lowkey. “That was just like validation for me, and it’s when the internet became how I push my artwork. It had gotten feedback before I was even looking for it.”

At that point, Lowkey got on Instagram and has been consistently posting there and later on TikTok, ever since. Shortly after that, they opted to leave Fort Lauderdale in favor of Atlanta. “I just didn’t feel like I fit in; culturally, I felt like I connected with Atlanta.”

For the first two summers living in Atlanta, Lowkey would set up on the sidewalks of Little Five Points to sell their canvas works and prints to make a bit of money. “Just out here trying every day,” they recalled. “I was just painting and showing it to people. They connected with it.” For Lowkey, art is one of the main ways that they connect with others. “I like to be private and just keep to myself,” they said with a knowing chuckle.

“I don’t take photos. I don’t do all that extra stuff. I wasn’t on the internet before I was making art, and it’s not about me at all.” Lowkey intentionally keeps their online identity vague, never posting anything that shows their face, gender or real name. 

“The way that I present myself on the internet, it forces people to think only about the art,” Lowkey continued. “I’m showing the best part of me; what I’m doing, what I can create and put out into the world. I’ll be personal through that.” Building a following and successful artistic career without sacrificing their privacy is a point of pride for Lowkey. It keeps the focus, and the validation that comes along with it, squarely centered on the artwork itself.

Over the years, Lowkey’s circle in Atlanta has organically grown. “I am so grateful for art for giving me a family here,” they said. These days, Lowkey regularly attends art openings and events with a core group of friends and counts artist Navin Norling as being one of their biggest supporters and mentors.

At the core of everything that Lowkey does is an interest in helping people and a desire to honor their mother’s legacy. “I put smiles on faces,” they said, “I’m doing my part. I don’t feel like the sad parts of being a human have to be part of the connection to other people. Mine is a curated connection.”

Learn more about Lowkey’s work and see pieces currently available for sale by visiting their website, Instagram and TikTok accounts. 

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Isadora Pennington is Senior Editor of Art + Design and Dance. An experienced writer and photographer with a deep love for the arts, Isadora founded the Sketchbook newsletter with Rough Draft Atlanta in 2022. She is also President of the Avondale Arts Alliance and Director of the Avondale Arts Center.