Inspired by the work of Solenne Jakovsky (www.solennejakovsky.com)
Author: bdonnet
World War 1 Stories
I made these a little while back. For the anniversary of beginning of the First World War, I’d wanted to make something that brought the memory of the people that fought in it back to life in a way. These are actual words written by soldiers at the time.
Fragments #1
“Il y a dans le violon […] des accents qui lui sont si communs avec certaines voix de contralto, qu’on a l’illusion qu’une chanteuse s’est ajoutée au concert. On lève les yeux, on ne voit que les étuis, précieux comme des boîtes chinoises, mais, par moments, on est encore trompé par l’appel décevant de la sirène; parfois aussi on croit entendre un génie captif qui se débat au fond de la docte boîte, ensorcelée et frémissante, comme un diable dans un bénitier; parfois enfin, c’est dans l’air, comme un être surnaturel et pur qui passe en déroulant son message invisible.
Comme si les instrumentistes, beaucoup moins jouaient la petite phrase qu’ils n’exécutaient les rites exigés d’elle pour qu’elle apparût, et procédaient aux incantations nécessaires pour obtenir et prolonger quelques instants le prodige de son évocation […].”
Marcel Proust, Du côté de chez Swann
Trading One Evil For Another
Apparently negotiations in Paris may take longer than expected to reach a final agreement as delegations are finding it hard to”translate political goodwill into the dry language of diplomatic agreements”. (http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/10/paris-climate-talks-deal-in-view-but-negotiations-likely-to-go-into-overtime)
We’ll have to wait and see in what shape that “good will” comes. With the UK (amongst others) awarding energy companies licences to frack all around, I don’t know how confident we should be feeling… (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/energy/fracking/11809113/Fracking-UK-could-it-happen-near-you.html)
For those who don’t know anything about fracking, here’s a quick explanation video about what it is and how it works:
Looking For The Bright Side
China’s national broadcaster urged smog-stricken citizens to grin and bear it as Beijing entered the second day of an air pollution red alert.
In a tweet entitled Tips to survive the smog, the state-run network CCTV wrote: “Smile and try to be positive (hopefully there will be less smog tomorrow).”
Conflicted, Mr. Erdogan?
Russia has claimed Turkish president Erdogan and his family are involved in smuggling oil from Isis-held territory (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-releases-proof-turkey-is-smuggling-isis-oil-over-its-border-a6757651.html).
Roughly at the same time, a man in Turkey is facing two years in jail for comparing Erdogan’s looks to Lord of the Rings’ character, Gollum (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34979249).
If the Russians are correct, likening his attitude rather than his looks might have been more accurate…
Paris Climate Talks 2015
The War Game
I’m going to soon start working on a new poster. In the meantime, here’s one I’d made a little while back for The War Game.
The War Game is a 1965 drama-documentary by Peter Watkins about the unfolding and consequences of a nuclear attack on the UK.
The Blue Desert
Illustration I made a few weeks back on the theme of “SOS”. I wanted to represent the isolation of a sailor in the ocean after his boat had capsized.
Rugby World Cup
I’ve been watching the world cup for the past month and a bit, I have to say I’ve really been enjoying it. Looking forward to the final on Saturday!
brendan donnet 