‘I found my own signature in the process of making illustrations’

By Simone Vos

In the newest Wobby #33 – Extreme, three recently graduated international illustrators show their work. Meet Giovanna Fabi (IT), Merlin Fels (FR) and Amber Pieren (NL), who were selected from the Open Call for Graduates 2022 and made brand new work for this edition. “The theme couldn’t be better for me. I’ve been recently involved in some weird experiences with romantic encounters. I can be a curious but impulsive person and I used to spontaneously seek unusual or even uneasy situations. So, I could really work with that”, says Giovanna Fabi, illustrator.

For Merlin Fels (FR) it was the opposite: “At first, I didn't really know what to do with the theme, since it's so broad and up for interpretation, but after some thinking I started to appreciate its openness. I felt like I ended up kind of straying from the theme, but I hope people can still see the connection I made to it”, he states. “I mostly draw short stories, so I think that open calls or collective publications are a good fit for me. They are a good opportunity to get some visibility.”

Merlin graduated from the Haute École des arts du Rhin (HEAR) and is an illustrator. “I knew that I wanted to stay away from the more violent or graphic ideas that could emerge from the ‘extreme’ theme. From there I interpreted the theme more in ways of things going too far, snowballing out of control for example. I wanted to make the story about human adding and adding to something and never stopping”, he says. “All that made me think about those pictures on the internet of people putting traffic cones on the heads of statues heads, and that gave me the rest of the idea for the story. The bit about the underground parking lot surrounding a grave is also directly inspired from the Place Kléber, a square in Strasbourg, which presents a similar situation.”

**Spread by Amber Pieren for Wobby #33**

Extreme emotions

Amber Pieren (NL) who studied Illustration Design at ArtEZ Zwolle, graduated in 2022. “I was really excited and curious to make completely new work for Wobby. It was quite a challenge for me, because since I graduated, I hadn’t made any work yet. Now I have found my own signature and I really liked that. I knew that I wanted to draw something that had to do with my own emotions. I started thinking about what kind of emotions are extreme for me. Then I thought of my fear of spiders. That’s extreme and even though I know it’s not that scary, I still feel scared when I see spiders. So, I took my own extreme fear and translated that into an illustration.”

For Giovanna, her own experiences were also the source of inspiration. She graduated in Illustration from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna (ABABO). “An image popped into my mind right away, one of the most obvious examples when you think about something extreme as a roller coaster. I used that metaphor to clearly express what I felt that time I had sex with a total stranger”, she states. “I also drew different types of lights (traffic lights, sparkles) to represent emotions. In fact, I think of them as flowing energies, meant to eventually cease the same way as adrenaline and thrill end in my story. My inspiration comes from what I experience most intensely, then I assemble what is relevant and, in the best-case scenario, it helps me digest annoying memories: a similar process to dreaming.”

For Merlin, the inspiration for illustrations in general is clearly derived from his own life: “My inspiration mostly stems from my own situation, from feelings of isolation and detachment from the world, from little things I see or hear. From there I mainly create short stories based around characters dealing with similar emotions and I often deal with somewhat morbid or depressing themes”, he says.

Since Amber made her work for Wobby, she feels like she has a better direction for her illustrations. “Previously I made work that was inspired by books or movies, but now I know I can put my own feelings and emotions into a drawing. I was a bit afraid of putting myself out there as an illustrator, but this really helped”, she says.

Giovanna feels like drawing and making illustrations is something that also helps in sorting out her life. She states: “The best thing is that I can generate something concrete to take care of. The more I do it, the better I feel afterwards. In other words, I set up symbiotic relationships with my drawings and I always try to put the maximum effort into them. It’s beneficial for me and it makes me feel less lonely. I’m the hermit crab and my drawings are its shells. Besides, I’ve never been good with words alone so combining words with images is my best way to communicate something freely and out loud to the world.”

About the Open Call

In September 2021, Wobby launched the first ‘Open Call for Graduates’ for artists that graduated in the years 2020 & 2021. In 2022, the second Open Call was launched. There were 156 applicants from all over the world, including Colombia, China, France, Egypt, Italy, US, the Netherlands and Germany.

Wobby #33 – Extreme is available in our webshop