Michael Kirkham
I will be using the Open Fund to facilitate the development of a visual language for my first children’s picture book. The book visualises the chaos caused by a troupe of monkeys as they pass straight through an unsuspecting town. My ambition is to capture the bodily thrill of moving imaginatively through space. There is a transgressive element to the book in that the heroes subvert public spaces for their own purposes and cause much destruction along the way. The book was conceived before the COVID pandemic but contains relevant themes in the sudden interruption of normality and the release of pent up confinement.
Whilst my career so far has been in the arena of commissioned illustration, it has always been my intention to move into authorial work. The requirements of a visual language suitable for children’s books are distinct from that of illustration for adults. Adapting my experience to this new application will require new uses and combinations of digital and physical processes and the further development of my drawing. As part of the project, I will be enlisting the help of professional dancer Iona Kewney. I anticipate that learning about moving and interpreting with my body will inform and grow my drawing.
