Young Illustrators bring words to life

Massey Design graduates Rosalind Atkinson and Leilani Isara take a stand for illustration as they present their first exhibition.

Illustration is perceived by many as inferior to fine art, belonging to books, advertisements and birthday cards. These two artists seek to redefine illustration in people's minds to suit our contemporary environment. Rather than accepting illustration as dependant on words, they view the discipline as a unique skill set which allows artist to translate words into visual imagery. In their forthcoming exhibition, 'Flights of Fancy', they use these skills to bring alive the words of childhood.

Leilani's images are inspired by the fairy tales of her childhood, reimagined with an adult understanding of visual symbolism. Her images are delicate, detailed and focused, with exquisite use of pale watercolour washes and sensitive textures.

Rosalind's works reimagine selected words by Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll, which remain as delightfully nonsensical today as they appeared to her as a child. Her images embrace that nonsense and present whimsical compositions in pencil, ink contour and watercolour.

Both artists are strong advocates of illustration as a valid artform, and enjoy the process of translating from one language (textual) to another (the visual).