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Narratives for Europe: Comics Back

Narratives for Europe: Comics

1 Apr 2012

Europe gets captured by the pens and pencils of up-and-coming and established comic artists. In partnership with comics collective Comixiade, we are pleased to introduce you to the works of: Aneta Bendakova, Dzaizku, Joseph Kaï, Maja Veselinovic, Vladan Nikolic, Guido van Hengel, Canan Marasligil and more…

Osvald: a European hero?

Osvald is a protagonist who is searching, experiencing, learning and growing older. He is sometimes accompanied on his journeys by a pig named Carmen. Osvald is a journalistic and inquisitive European, and former clarinet player. He is also a daydreamer who keeps waking up in different places. And since he’s not really sure about his identity, each time he tries to connect with others – in order to recollect faces, his story, his heritage and culture. Here you can read his stories told by a variety of artists from all across Europe and beyond.

Osvald’s stories start with The Ovarian Lottery, by Siebe de Boer

The Ovarian Lottery by Siebe de Boer

With The Ovarian Lottery, artist Siebe de Boer presents the birth of our hero Osvald.

This work has specially been animated by Siebe de Boer, with music by the West Side Trio – for our ‘Remappings – The Making of European Narratives’ book launch on 6 December 2012.

Osvald’s adventures continue in the nine stories below where our hero travels throughout Europe… Click on the pictures to read the comics.

Comics artists biographies (in alphabetical order)

Aneta Bendakova is an illustrator and graphic designer from the Czech Republic. She seeks her inspiration for drawings and stories in personal life, science-fiction and observations of the really tiny details around her. She participated in a travelling exhibition on the main train stations of Prague, Nürnberg, Cologne, The Hague and London.

Siebe de Boer is an animator, designer and illustrator from Groningen (Netherlands).

Gloria Cabrejas holds a degree in Contemporary History, but she wanted to be illustrator since she was 5 years old. A few years ago she moved to Madrid, where she studied illustration and design to learn how to never stop drawing again.

Aleksandra Chaushova (b. 1985; Sofia, Bulgaria) graduated in 2009 with a Masters of Arts in Graphic Printing from the National Art Academy, Sofia. She made her debut in 2003 with the book “Bzzz-z-z-z” (poems and dreams), which won a subsidy from the Soros Center for Cultural Policies and the Prohelvetia Arts Council of Switzerland. At that time, she also created illustrations for “Roma Fairytales II”, a bilingual book (in Bulgarian and Roma) financed by the “Open Society Foundation – Bucharest,” which was later nominated for the national award “Hristo G. Danov”. Since then, she has worked as an illustrator and book designer.Chaushova has taken part in numerous exhibitions, among them exhibits at the International Art Triennial Osaka 2006, the International Graphic Print Triennial Krakow 2006 (nominated for “Top Graduates”), the International Paper Art Exhibition Amateras Sofia 2009, and group exhibitions in Mexico, Belgrade (Serbia), Edirne (Turkey), and Sofia.

Marc Hannemann is historian, writer and filmmaker. He is specialized in small stories of unknown passengers, telling the big narratives of Europe through memories and fantasies. In 2008 and 2009 he travelled across Europe and all the way to Japan. The articles about this journey were published in NRC Handelsblad and collected in the book Vals plat in de Oeral.

Guido van Hengel (Henotz) is a comic activist and writer from the Netherlands. Initiator of comic jams around Europe, including Comixiade.

Joseph Kaï is an illustrator and piano musician from Beirut (Lebanon).

Marie Kohoutová studied illustration, which gave her an interest in comics. While not a big comic fan right away, she still likes the medium a lot because it provides a space for telling stories. She is also a painter and graphic designer. She regards the stamps she designed for the Czech postal service as her biggest achievement. Marie Kohoutová lives and works in Pilsen in the Czech Republic.

Canan Marasligil is a writer, literary translator, editor and curator living in Amsterdam and working internationally.

Vladan Nikolic was born in 1968 in Zrenjanin, Serbia, where he still lives and works. He graduated from the graphic design department at Novi Sad High School. His comics were published in Serbia, Slovenia, USA, France, Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. Aside from comics, he is also active in the fields of painting, illustration and cartoons.

Vladimir Palibrk is a promoter and freelance manager in field of comics, music and related areas. Based in Pancevo, Serbia, in gallery ELEKTRIKA.

Boris Stanic finished the Faculty of Fine Arts in Belgrade, painting department, and for years he was just painting. According to himself, thanks to Comixiade he started making comics again. Now that’s what he does mostly. Of course, he also still paints.

Illustrator and comic author based in Belgrade, Serbia, Maja Veselinovic is working as an illustrator for children’s books, poster designer and comics author, and she is present on Serbian and worldwide comics scene since middle of 1990’s. Heroes of her stories are often animals and fantastic, fairy-tale-like creatures, which came as a good background to deal with Osvald and Karmen.

Agata Wawryniuk is a graphic designer and illustrator from Poland. Author of many short comics for magazines and anthologies, she is currently working on her own book.

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