WIA2022 Longlist Category Highlights: Site Specific – New Talent

Valentina Calzolari : Wellcome to Oishi Town

Showcased at the illustration week exhibition “Motherstation” in Tel Aviv, Israel, Valentina created these pieces from materials such as styrofoam, plastic and wool to resemble a set of food stands.

The piece was created to represent the spirit of the variety of exotic and foreign food products sold in the food markets of the Central Station in Tel Aviv, Israel. The illustration is an homage to the soon to be demolished Old Central Station.

The imaginary food items, reminiscent of cloth dolls, become temporary objects that created bridges through which you can always return to the tastes of home, feeling the comfort and warmth that they bring.

Valentina Calzolari, aka Valuca is a multidisciplinary illustrator and animator based in Tel Aviv, Israel. She graduated from the Department of Visual Communication at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design (B.Des) in 2021. 

Hannah Grace Woods : ‘Sun & Sea’ Piano Mural

Hannah was approached to create this piano mural by a family in London who wanted to incorporate their memories of warm family holidays and their love for the sun & sea, into their basement space through a piano mural.

Hannah says ‘It was an opportunity for me to develop my illustrative style following my first piano mural for ‘Leeds Piano Trail’ in 2018.’

The mural was created using various water-based paints to create the artwork and it was sealed using a satin varnish.

Hannah Grace Woods is an illustrator and muralist born and raised in Hong Kong. She studied BA Visual Communication at Leeds Arts University, and an MA in Illustration at Arts University Bournemouth in 2021.

Ekaterina Sheath : The New Pavilion: A Walk Through Time

Ekaterina was commissioned to create this mural for the The New Pavilion in Morley, which had been at the heart of the community since 1911. Now abandoned, the building whispers of couples falling in love, cheeky children tucking into ice cream, and clubbers’ rowdy dancing.

Protesting against demolition, the local community successfully protected this cherished site. This project creatively transforms the building while it awaits a new future, whilst encouraging a sense of community and pride in the area by celebrating local stories.

Fuelled by an interest in heritage and oral story-telling, Ekaterina reached out to local people. By depicting their own words and using local archives, she brought the building’s history back to life as local people and visitors walk past.

Ekaterina Sheath is a recent graduate from Leeds Arts University. Through community engagement, on-location drawing, and research, she shares hidden stories and transforms local spaces into cultural assets.

Just Peachy Collective : Mander Centre Murals

This mural was a commission to create two large scale murals in the Mander Centre, Woverhampton.

The Just Peachy Collective are currently in their final year of study at Wolverhampton University, so this was creative challenge that gave them the opportunity to work as a collaborative group for the first time, whilst improving their creative skills and developing their making processes.

Each wall had a theme – Abstract and Botanical, and were inspired by several artists/ images. They began experimentation physically, through mark-making, creating collages, and 3D models as well as working digitally, before creating the final full size murals on location.

Just Peachy is an Art and Design Collective, comprising of Nayia, India and Lauren, three final-year Illustration students from the University of Wolverhampton (graduating in 2022).

Carli Pfurtscheller : Bridging Communities: St Neots Rail Station’s new 47-metre long mural

The Love’s Farm Community Association in St Neots developed a proposal for a community mural measuring 47 metres (155 feet) that would span the inside of the walkway of the bridge that crosses the rail station line.

St Neots and the new community of Love’s Farm are separated by the bridge and the creation of a mural looked to both connect the communities and welcome visitors to the town.

Carli spent over 110 hours working on this project, photographing and making drawings of St Neots and the local parishes in an effort to include as many local landmarks and characteristics that make the town unique.

Carli Pfurtscheller is currently studying for an MA in Children’s Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art.

Melanie Gandyra : Wild Spaces – Protect What You Love

Melanie was commissioned to create a window design for the Patagonia store in Innsbruck, Austria to show wild spaces specific to the alps and to create an image that showcased the main peaks in the local area.

She was inspired to create an illustration that was free of human traces and to highlight the environmental peculiarities found around the peaks.

The design started life as a sketch before Melanie created the final design with a detailed colour scheme. The final window decoration was painted with acrylic markers.

Melanie Gandyra is an illustrator based in Hamburg and Innsbruck with a focus on informative illustration and science illustration.