Biographical Illustrations
From 2018 to 2020, I had the opportunity to work on the New Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense, Denmark. EVENT Communications, a global exhibition/ experience design agency, contacted me for the project.
I was tasked with creating all the illustrations for the museum. They were searching for an illustration style reminiscent of Andersen's own whilst bringing a contemporary look and feel. The illustration style needed to be detailed yet abstract, allowing layering of storytelling whilst enabling visitors to fill in the gaps with their own imagination. It should also have the ability to be both friendly and sinister, reflecting some of the double meaning of the writer's work.
All the work was done in two phases, printing and media.
The art direction was led by Stuart Williams and Eithne Owens from EVENT team, alongside Henrik Lübker from HCA Hus.
As an illustrator, this was a thrilling, enormous, frightful and a big challenge. It's my biggest project so far and I am deeply honoured to have been a part of it.
Andersen´s Life Story
The Biographical Realm introduces visitors to Hans Christian Andersen’s life story through a series of 12 black and white illustrations that run along the wall. These illustrations represent Andersen’s fantasised version of his life story; his autobiography is literally called “The Fairy Tale of My Life”. I had to illustrate different passages of his life, which means that I needed to create a narrative with multiple layers within a single image. This process involved a delicate balance between the concrete and the symbolic, between the real and the existential meaning always with a poetic and subtle imagery.
© Photo by Stuart Williams, EVENT