illustration

When looking at Marijpol's world, we get the distinct feeling of encountering a mythical folklore monster born out of superstition and hearsay. Her digital illustrations of various chimeras and (human?) beings are rife with patterning and repeated structures almost to the point of a moiré effect.

“It is a fact that I would not have been an artist without the death of my brother. I lost my whole frame of reference, part of me still remembers that time.” Belgian artist Laurent Impeduglia creates painstakingly crowded, slightly disturbing, colourful and seemingly random scenes in which the viewer can get lost for hours on end.

While being often likened to Charles Burns, Tomáš Motal's one-of-a-kind personality, distinctive underdog humour and outcast characters never fail to make his black and white illustrations and comic books stand out on their own. Welcome to the creepy vortex.

French illustrator Louisa Vahdat kindly gave us a tour of her royal-blue and verdant-green dominated fantasy landscapes with oftentimes unsettling occurrences in an exclusive interview.

While introducing two series of playful and cheery illustrations by Katarina Kratochvílová, a versatile artist living in Prague, the Czech Republic, we're slowly ushering in our upcoming theme for 2021.

French illustrator Gary Colin experiments with non-anthropomorphic, novelty, swarming and organic forms via a computer graphic programme to create living cartographies of other worlds.

Do football goals suffer from occupational hazard? Belgian illustrator Léo Gillet gives us the answers to even more pressing questions in his detailed and multilayered pieces done with felt-tip pens, markers and pencils. Enjoy the exclusive SWARM Mag interview.

Belgian illustrator Paulien Verheyen is centered on the corporeal form in a celebratory, colourful and open-minded way. She also shared with us her thoughts on the rediscovering of creating just for oneself, shaking off the Instagram gaze and validations as a motivator.

This space wouldn't thrive as much without a semi-regular supply of poetry so we've called upon the first Poet Laureate of Plymouth, one of the earliest loyal fans of SWARM Mag and our friend Stephan Delbos to deliver us from this specific medium shortage. Accompanied by illustrations by Czech artist Mikoláš Zika. Enjoy a piece tailored to and inspired by our current umbrella topic – FRONT RUNNER

Is masturbation a race? A contest? And if it is – with whom? Czech writer and anthropologist Zuzana Trachtová shuffles and deals out the playcards of the game of self-discovery and self-pleasure. The text is accompanied by delicate and symbolic illustrations by Czech artist Julie Daňhelová, which were custom made for SWARM Mag.

Playful and bubblegum-y, the illustrations by Spanish artist Juan Vallecillos take us into an universe where everyone is sporty, colourful, sharply dressed, up to something, and a little bit tired.

In her essay, Czech writer Bára Čápová gives us an intricate look into the heyday and present state of a once-popular online world-building game still suspended “out there”. This piece was composed exclusively for SWARM Mag.

The colour scheme and soft, rounded style of Jonathan Hoffboll put us on a sporty nostalgia train to the station 80s/90s. Remember all the basketball trading cards, funky casual T-shirt prints, over-the-top sneakers and all the Will Smith movies?

Block-coloured and seemingly ominous illustrations by Marta Moya bring us unto a relatable universe of distractedness and the fidgety mind.

An arachnologist turned full-time illustrator and teacher, Barcelona-based Emma Roulette guides us through her colour-by-the-numbers drawing style and ponders the meaning of borders and recent, newly-made rifts.

“Written for Swarm Mag in a bus from Prague to Chlumec nad Cidlinou. It was hot, too hot, and the couple behind me kept kicking my seat.” In his essay, Ondřej Trhoň views the act of writing as a way of repurposing and reinventing oneself.

The body of work of French illustrator Amelie Barnathan “stems from her obsessive relationship with drawing”, which she believes to be an act of utmost intimacy with a direct line to one's mind. She repurposes the aesthetic and symbolism of other cultures and twists the classical portrayal of women and girls in mythologies.

Czech illustrator Martina Fischmeister let us pull the curtain on the creative process of her dreamy, floaty abstract works that, nearly paradoxically, help her get grounded in reality.

“It's kinda strange, sometimes,” says Dimitri Litzinger a Münster-based illustrator, about his dreamy vignettes suspended in timelessness and subtle gradients.

Tim Mulder is an accomplished illustrator from the Netherlands, focusing on minimalistic colour palette, surreal comics-like environment, and the power of a clear line.