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Commissioned | Professional

Why did you make this work:
I was commissioned by the publisher to illustrate this classic novella. Reading it, I was surprised how prosaic it is written. Other than in the numerous movie adaptions, in the book the cruelty of the antihero is left to our imagination, it is not described, so I chose abstraction as stylistic element. Spilled inks darkening the pages, representing the transformation and takeover of the evil.

How was the illustration used:
The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a short novella, hardly running 80 pages. With a hardcover 204 pages to fill, there was luxurious space for illustrations enabling me to elaborate the visuals thoroughly using every visual hint the text would supply and developing a separate visual narrative beyond the words. Illustrations are to find on nearly every spread of this book.

How did you make this work:
To achieve the abstraction mentIoned, I combined figurative, narrative drawings with spilled ink, crystallizing over figures, leaving traces on sceneries, casting dark shadows, symbolizing the evil, tinting the book darker and darker from page to page as Dr. Jekylls transformation proceeds.

Commissioner Name :
Regina Grenier and MaryAnn Hall
Commissioner Company :
Rockport Publishers / Quarto Group

Social Media:
instagram.com/tina_berning

Personal Website:
tinaberning.de
Agent Website:
http://www.kokoartagency.com


Currently Based:
Berlin, Germany

Biography:
Tina Berning is a Berlin based artist and illustrator focusing on figurative drawing. Constantly switching between commissions and her personal artistic position her work has been published as well as exhibited worldwide. Tina Berning’s online diary featuring her daily drawings can be followed on her Instagram account @tina_berning.