Hi, Ina, congratulations on being longlisted for this year's Bologna. Could you share with us which illustrations you are applying for the exhibition?
Thank you! At the end of last year, I received an invitation from Ekaré Publishing (Spain and Venezuela) to apply for the Bologna exhibition with works from the book La Bandera de Amalia (The Flag of Amalia) by Nono Granero, which was published in early 2020. The book has had quite a successful run so far, was recommended by the New York Library and entered the prestigious selection of the Cuatro gatos Foundation. The story is wonderful, it is a metaphor for how a flag unites people.
What is your personal opinion and impression of the works of the qualified artists?
I was very excited that the jury included Beatrice Alemanha and Atak, whom I admire a lot and I think they made the right decision in their selection of so many works.
I have the pleasure of knowing some of the qualified authors (Andrea Antinori and I studied together, and Ana Aparicio and I know each other from the Barcelona festivals). I closely follow the work of Spanish, Mexican and Italian illustrators. And I really admire the Russian wave in illustration. I really like the works of Armando Fonseca and Solin Sekur, who have a clear style and a very poetic feeling in the visual reading of each work.
This year, I was very impressed by the work of Goldousian Alireza from Iran, who impresses with composition, color, texture and great rhythm.
We must bear in mind that this is an exhibition that aims to show new experiments and ways of visual storytelling in illustration. It is interesting that there are different styles, but they all have something in common, a personal touch and no interest in established formulations.
You live and work in Mexico, but you have also published books in Spain and Bulgaria. Do you think there is a difference between the images sought “here” and “there”?
I have been living in Mexico for a year now, but I work with Spanish publishers such as A buen paso and Ekaré and with Bulgarian publishers – List, Krug, Buboleche, Dakelche.
In my opinion, it is very important what stories we tell, not so much what may be tendentious here or there. And it is the Spanish publishers, and also those in Mexico, Portugal and Argentina, that I think take the most risks. They strongly believe in the connection between illustration and text. Exceptional books are published by small publishers – books that reach far, win international awards, are translated into different languages. I am impressed by the development of the album book in recent years, especially in Spain, several small publishers have united around the idea of developing the market and created the Album Association and organize festivals, meetings and support each other.
Favorite authors that I would like to see appear on the Bulgarian market are Dekur, Carson Ellis, Beatrice Alemanha, Blacksbolex, Valerio Vidali and Violeta Lopis, Isidro Ferrer, Kitty Krauter, etc.
Can you tell us a little more about your book “Little Roy” and why you decided to realize it in Bulgaria?
“Little Roy” is a project that my mother Violeta Hristova and I have been planning for years. The story about the little rain was written 15 years ago and it was waiting for me to draw it for a long time!
I am very excited about the book-album (picturebook) format and I think it is something new on the Bulgarian market, so I hope to make it a path to the Bulgarian audience and that is why we decided to create a publishing project called “Buboleche”. We are also working on further titles.
I can't help but ask you - did 2020 affect your work and in what way? As well as everyone's favorite question about future creative plans.
On a personal level, 2020 was a year of big changes, and on a professional level, it seemed like a great opportunity for growth opened up.
I started various projects - at the beginning of the year I implemented a course for the largest online course platform Domestika, I worked on Little Roy, I made several book covers for various publishers, and in September I made a Google Doodle for the National Day of Mexico. So it was undoubtedly a year that gave me the opportunity to experiment in different directions.
I am currently working on two books, one is for the Spanish publishing house A Buen Paso, it is an author's book album, which is inspired by a Bulgarian folk tale.
The other book is for the Swiss market together with Slavi Stoev, the well-known book The Seller of Hate, presented in German by the Swiss Dachshund (Doxie Verlag). And we are also preparing the next story for Bug!
Thank you and congratulations again!
Thank you!
Photos: personal archive
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