Hey everyone. I wanted to share this project with you for a long time. For a couple of years, I’ve been working on the illustrations for a beautiful story : Nkemdiche, Why We Do Not Grow Beards. The story is an Igbo folktale, written by Obiora Nwazota, a visionary architect and designer from Nigeria. We worked together for a long time getting the right aesthetic, patterns, colors, and I got the chance to get immersed in the culture of the Igbo people.
It was only a scratch on the surface. So much to be humbled by. So much for people from Africa and African descent to reclaim. We looked at the art, the architecture, dove into the Igbo cosmology and philosophy (Omenala), looked at the wonderful diversity of patterns (Uli, the Nsibidi Alphabet, and the coded Ukara cloth from the mysterious Ekpe society).
Okpara House was founded by Obiora to celebrate the Igbo culture and place it back on the map, and by doing so, elevating the culture and history of all African countries and placing it on the same level than white western countries and culture. African art is all but primitive, African culture is all but monolithic. Patterns are all but only ornemental. There is so, so much to learn.
It took nearly two years to put the book together, thanks to Obiora’s guidance and vision, Nick Adam and Bud Rodecker from Span Studio for their expertise, typesetting and cover design, and Ebere Agwuncha for the documentation, graphic design, planning, production and so much more.
I strongly encourage you to visit the website okparahouse.com to learn more about Igbo culture, the upcoming projects and order a copy of this book in the US.
Nkemdiche in the press :
https://100.sta-chicago.org/winners/2021/nkemdiche
https://50books50covers.secure-platform.com/a/gallery/rounds/159/details/43437
https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/six-great-book-covers-and-the-stories-behind-them/
The Chicago Tribune : Obi Nwazota’s ‘Nkemdiche’ looks at Black hair through lens of African folklore
https://www.printmag.com/post/the-daily-heller-celebrating-nigerian-folk-tales
Aren’t they cute?! A couple weeks ago I was asked by James Hosking, the art director of the Chicago Reader, to think about cicadas for a cover. Not just any cicadas. THE cicadas. Billions of them, brood XIX and brood XIII, popping out of the ground after 13 and 17 years of larval stage for the Double Emergence. After the eclipse and the Northern lights, it’s time for Illinois to party with bugs.
The cover was made using several techniques, with paper cut by hand and by way of a laser cutter (thanks to Margie of the Itty Bitty Mini Mart) that were then hand-painted. Thank you James for your trust and patience and dedication to the art!
Actually, go check out Jame’s wonderful paper cut art here.
A toast to bugs and all things strange and beautiful.
>> making of “Under the Covers” - mini interview with James <<
On October 1st of 2022 , Hannah and Alex got married.
And because they are both community builders and amassed countless friends and fans over the years, everyone knew it was going to be a superproduction!
Featuring the creme de la creme of local artisans, craftspeople, Dj’s and Mc’s and all kinds of beautiful people, the event was curated with effortless cool and was promising to be a night to be remembered.
I almost fell off my chair when they asked me to make the centerpieces !
I always love a challenge, and this one was an opportunity to learn new techniques and work more efficiently to knock it out of the park and of course honor my two dear friends.
In total, and with the help of my friend Maddy H., we made 650 paper elements, arranged in lovely bouquets for 32 tables!
These wonderful photos were taken by Sarah from Glitterguts Chicago. Sarah is the one person capable of catching the moment in the most minute details, with an eye for the most memorable facial expressions! So even if you were at the event, you can revisit it, see all that you missed and discover an entirely new party.
Each year, my dear friend and comic artist Alex Nall asks a friend to make a portrait of his Mom’s dog Kirby. How thoughtful!
In 2020, that was my turn. It was really fun to make, and for the first time I experimented a bit with gouache to add a little texture to the paper before cutting it.
On the other photos you can check out other iterations of Kirbys by Mike Freiheit and Mike Centeno. Click on the pictures to get to their websites.
THis was a very fun project and I can’t wait to see a full wall of Kirbys in a couple years!
An altar for the Spirit of Saint Deux Octobre, to celebrate friendship and good conversations.
Digital Drawing for the french publication Journal Errratum in the summer issue of 2020 : Building Zone, along with great artists .
Each year, French publishers celebrate the Rentrée Littéraire, where hundreds of new books are released.
Window display for the parisian bookstore La Hune in september 2013.
Illustration d’une nouvelle de Alice Zéniter, parue dans le Magazine Ediles. 2016
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Illustration for a short story by Alice Zéniter, published in Ediles magazine. 2016
Production : Fact Studio
Landscapes created for Jouer à Débattre, a project created by L’Arbre des Connaissances.
Through roleplay, teenagers are encouraged to form opinions and engage in constructive debates on complex topics, such as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, transhumanism.
2015 BREAKING THE RULES - Playtime Paris
In January 2015, I was invited to design one of the three trendspaces for PLAYTIME Paris, the Children fashion and design tradeshow.
Every year a new topic is assigned to several artists for the show’s trendspaces.
« Breaking the rules » was my theme.
inspired from street art, graffitis and neon color fashion from the nineties.
In 2016 I had just arrived in Chicago and got married. Little did I know that a couple months later, I’d be making some really fun props with GlitterGuts for another wedding, featuring items of my new culture : hot dogs (NO ketchup!!!), pizza (deep dish), the Chicago Hawks meeting the opponent : the emblem of the Detroit Red Wings, but also a gavel, a Wonder Woman tiara, a light saber…
All the props you need for a real “Chicago v.s Detroit” indian wedding : a true american wedding!
all rights reserved @glitterguts
Double spread in Paulette, a french fashion and lifestyle magazine.
Photography and art direction by Alice Cuvelier
photoshoot for a jewelry blog, showcasing “Paon du Jour” from maison De Grace.
Photography : Nicolas Mingalon.
Group show in Bridgeport, during the dead of winter-pandemic of 2020, early 2021. Featuring the works of Sidnie Jimenez, Ish Muhammad, Lindsey Claire Newman, Nick Merlock Jackson.
Curated by the wonderful Anna at Grace Jane Gallery
A shadowbox in memory of a sweet soul named Kira, accompanied by Francis the Pig in the afterlife.
Series of short films by Fact Studio, to to debunk a few myths about fair trade labels.
The technique used is a hybrid between classic stop-motion and shadow puppets.
No cacao pod were harmed during the production of this movie (not so sure about field workers)
Inspired by the funny fungi on tree trunks, lichen on rocks and mold found in the month-old yogurt in my fridge, I played around the patterns of growth on a clean-cut volume such as the Icosahedron, and later on some hand-made polyhedrons.
Little 5x7” three dimensional zombie portraits in paper.
A few of the postcards made in 2020 during lockdown.
zine distributed with free meal from the Cards against humanity cafe.
Edited and directed by Kevin Budnik and Alex Nall
Illustration for the second issue of the magazine [SIC].
Inspired by "the cursed bread", a special interest story: In 1951, a mass food poisoning occured in the village of Pont Saint Esprit, causing seven deaths and the internment of fifty villagers. After multiple theories were evoked, it was discovered that the poisonning was caused by the use of rye flour infected by fungus.
Colored pencil on paper, 50 × 65 cm, 2014
