‘In my illustrations I reflect my feelings, it’s a stress-release process’
By Simone Vos
The newest Wobby #34 – Designer dreams includes the work of three international and recently graduated artists. Meet Annelies Bollaers (BE), Gyayu Wang (CN) and Yuka Masuko (DE) and their work. They were selected from the Open Call for Graduates 2022 and made completely new work for this edition of Wobby. “In my work I wanted to design a completely new human being. My inspiration came from Pinocchio. He was also created, so I decided to take that to a new level”, says illustrator Annelies Bollaers.
For Yuka Masuko, the theme reminded her of working in Photoshop and InDesign. “Since I practice illustration in the field of graphic design, I’m working a lot with software like this. It’s part of my daily routine, even though I also draw mainly analogue with my graphic marker and stationery”, she says. “If you’re immersed in using graphic software, you might have dreamed about it, just like I show in my work. The invasion of shortcut keys in your dreamworld. I find it fascinating that these shortcut keys are a universal language and how quickly it reflects your imagination of the monitor. It’s like magic. Designers are magicians. I wanted to draw the dreamworld, using text only as a mysterious magic spell.”
Yuka studied illustration at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle and lives in Berlin. Before moving to Germany in 2016, she graduated in political studies in Japan, her country of birth. “I realized that what I really like to do, is make illustrations and draw. I decided to study in Germany because I studied German in high school. I also did an exchange semester in Strasbourg, which was very nice, and I learned so much about design there.”
Yuka isn’t the only Wobby graduate to undergo a change of course. Annelies also found a new interest in life. “At first, I wanted to be an architect, but in high school l realized it was all about forms and that it’s too strict. In the end I decided to go the LUCA School of Arts in Ghent to study illustration”, she states. “I’m so happy, because now I have the freedom to put all my ideas on a blank page. It’s my moment of freedom to illustrate.”
Gyayu Wang, who studied illustration and graphic design at the University of the Arts London found the theme well chosen. “I am a graphic designer myself, so the theme of Designer is very close to me. But I couldn't find any special dream this career brings me”, she says. “By chance, almost all my friends have design-related careers, so I expanded my definition of designer to a broader field. I looked for a dream perspective that distinguishes me as a graphic designer through memories and the activities of my friends.”
Spread by Annelies Bollaers for Wobby #34
Inspiration
Her inspiration came from a workshop given by one of her friends. “We designed and built some wooden houses for homeless bees. It was a very sweet idea, but it turned out that none of the bees came to stay. For designers, this is frustrating because the result deviates from the utopia we envisioned. Therefore, I used this as a beautiful dream to recount this experience”, Gyayu explains.
The inspiration for Annelies’ work comes from everyday situations, she tells us. “Sometimes I see or feel something when I’m riding my bike through the city. For example, now I’m almost done with my Master in education, and it sometimes feels like I’m all eaten up from inside out. To translate that feeling to an illustration I drew a bouquet that has been consumed by a lot of insects. That is the way I connect my feelings with my drawings.”
For Gyayu, illustration is also a way of dealing with her feelings: “It always makes me feel great freedom to tell stories and interpret styles”, she states. “Besides, illustration is a stress-release process for me, like sunbathing. It is my common practice to bring out the anxiety I feel in a positive and humorous way.
Spread by Yuka Masuko for Wobby #34
About the Open Call
In September 2021, Wobby launched the first ‘Open Call for Graduates’ for artists that graduated in the years 2020 & 2021. This year, in 2023, the third Open Call was organized. There were applicants from all over the world, including Colombia, China, Nigeria, US, the Netherlands and Germany.
Wobby #34 – Designer Dreams is available in our webshop