The art of illustration is one quite dear to me and for this week’s curator’s corner I wanted to share an image that like no other has stolen my heart. It’s Indonesian creator, Dionisius Mehaga Bangun Djayasaputra (abbreviated to Dion MBD), shines in creating seemingly light-hearted images that carry a strong emotional load. It’s no wonder that he labels himself as an emotive illustrator and this image for me perfectly captures that sentiment. Created as a student project and labelled by instructors as ‘too sophisticated’ it’s one that resonated strongly with me and many others who have loved and reshared the image online (showing that sophistication is never a bad thing).
I see it every day as it’s the background image on my cell phone, which I think shows my personal affection for the piece. For me it permeates both hopefulness and sadness, a sense of longing and melancholy that’s better felt than described. The layered feel of the imagery, where we see a painting of a painting and where we see an artist creating a companion to fill either a deeply missed or a desired loved one, is an optical illusion I find more than successful. And more than anything this work inspires imagination, it urges the start of a thought process, where we can all imagine a narration that could be behind the poetic imagery. And that’s a gift that great illustration can do like no other. I hope this piece can move you like it did me and I urge you to discover more of Dion’s work through his various channels.
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