Croatian comics artist and illustrator Ivana Armanini will present her newly published zine She Must Be Mad, an eclectic array that shifts between illustration and comics, a sort of diary of feelings, made during the summer months. In it, the artist records the journey of the waves, the sun and the moon, turbulence and implosions. The whole thus pulses with the rhythm of the summer, suitably complemented and enhanced by the colour red in combination with black and white.
The author’s artwork is characterised by experimental boldness, associations, exploration towards reduction and abstraction, and questioning the limits of comics as a medium. As stated by illustrator and collaborator of acclaimed French newspapers Charlie Hebdo and Liberation Bernard Holtrop – Willem, the comic book pages of Ivana Armanini “are difficult to compare to anything usually regarded as ‘comics’. They are a slap to the decent face of the graphic novel profession. Too weird, too strong, too beautiful. She must be mad!”
Ivana Armanini got her M.A. at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. She is the author of four independent comic books and the founder and head of the Komikaze project, a network for the creation, promotion and distribution of original comics, linking the Croatian and international indie comics scenes for 16 years now. Within the framework of Komikaze, Armanini handles digital and print publishing, as well as holds comics workshops and exhibitions. She has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions and festivals both at home and abroad, with her work also included in the permanent exhibition of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb. She lives and works in Ljubljana and Zagreb.
Organisation: Kino Šiška.
