A Day in My Head, Living as a Polymath

Some days, my mind feels like a radio constantly switching channels. One moment I’m thinking about color balance in a digital collage, the next I’m reminiscing about a deep house set I once played at Goldfish or how light hits a model’s face just right at sunrise. This overflow of passions used to confuse me. But over time, I’ve come to understand: I’m not scattered. I’m a polymath.

I didn’t always have the word for it, but I’ve always lived it. My first creative identity was shaped behind the decks. As a DJ, I played for over 15 years across house, techno, R&B, and Latin music. I arrived in Sydney playing in clubs, carrying the rhythm of my roots and adapting to the sounds of the city. Eventually, I made it to iconic venues like Ivy, Chinese Laundry, and Goldfish. Those nights were electric, unforgettable. But when the music slowed and the club life faded into the background, I felt something missing.

That’s when I picked up a pen. Drawing was meditative but soon, something deeper clicked. I remembered a camera from my childhood. My dad’s old professional one, always off-limits, always calling to me. Years later, I finally gave in to that calling. I bought my own and began again.

I took photos of everything, friends, strangers, streets, clouds, shadows. Then came beginner models, then small jobs. It wasn’t overnight, but step by step, I built a new language through photography. I started documenting my travels, capturing textures, light, raw moments. I didn’t know it then, but I was building a visual library that would later feed into my art.

Parallel to this, I was diving into another world, literally. Freediving became a new obsession. Through discipline and silence, I earned my certification and pushed my breath-hold to 4 minutes and 30 seconds and I dove 20 meters deep with no oxygen tank, no noise just presence. There’s something spiritual about being that close to nature, in its most silent form.

I’ve always wrestled with labels. designer, photographer, DJ. People often say you need to pick one path and master it. And I get it, focus matters. But that box has never fit me. I’ve traded a linear version of “success” for a life that’s rich, layered and full of discovery.

It took time, but I’ve found a space where everything meets. My art blends photography, design, architecture, surrealism, and philosophy. I bring years of understanding light, color, harmony, and story telling into one place. I experiment with papers, inks, and textures to bring digital visions into the physical world. I listen closely to the energy around me, to karma, to intuition and it all becomes part of my work.

Being a polymath doesn’t mean doing many things poorly. It means choosing the harder route, one that takes longer, demands more patience and more self-trust. Success isn’t just about being known for one thing it’s about feeling proud of everything you do.

It’s taken me a lifetime to get here and I’m still learning. But now, I embrace the channel-switching brain, the endless curiosity, the passion that won’t sit still. Because that’s who I am. And honestly, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

– Fabian Artunduaga