Welcome to lowercase focus, a bi-monthly program which seeks to highlight emerging artists and exhibitions over the world.

In my last focus article, I provided a short list of galleries and fairs who are rethinking the digital format – whether through careful and considered curation of digital artists or with new-media technologies such as augmented reality, arts professionals are providing a reinvigorating platform for creativity in the time of social distancing. In this article I’ll return to highlighting artists, with a focal point on the mediums of illustration and animation.

Wong Ping

Hong Kong based video artist Wong Ping is an exciting emerging artist, best known for his bright and humorous animations which explore dark themes. I’ve been entirely hooked since watching his short film, Jungle of Desire (2015), which portrays a homemaker turned sex-worker with a closeted, cuckolded husband. Ping has amassed an impressive body of works in his short career, exhibited at venues including the Chinese Centre for Contemporary Art and has received awards including Perspective’s ’40 under 40’.

Ping is best discovered through his personal Vimeo page: https://vimeo.com/mrwongping

Polly Nor

Polly Nor is a very well-known illustrator. Her recognizable monikers which focus on women and their demons are ubiquitous in fashion and advertising globally and have enabled light-hearted explorations into themes of female identity and self-esteem in the digital age. Nor has recently taken an exciting leap into animation with a debut short film entitled How Have You Been?.

Made in collaboration Andy Baker Studios, How Have You Been? follows a young lady’s interesting day stuck at home, perhaps while socially distancing. Apart from collaborating with Chelou on the music video for Halfway to Nowhere (2016), How Have You Been? is a rare animated release by Nor, though hopefully a marker of the first of many…

How Have You Been? can be found here.

Judy Rhum

Judy Rhum, a graffiti artist, is a curveball to this list. Her style however justifies her placement. Where many graffiti artists, Revok, JR and Banksy to name a few, are appropriating and transferring the aesthetics of graffiti into more ‘fine art’ centric practices, Rhum does the opposite. Her works are lucid and ludic, combining a playful and illustrative feel into the monumental platform that is graffiti. They are slick: graffiti with layered breakdowns, expanded geometric shapes and purposeful abstraction.

Rhum is also the co-founder of Drinchendo (which roughly translates to drink and draw), a Milan-based arts program which, surprisingly, holds wine and crafts nights among other interesting programmes. Their fun can be found here.

Ilya Milstein

I’ve been following Ilya Milstein since 2018 when the New York Times commissioned him to create four illustrations transmogrifying 1980s New York for their Style magazine.

Milstein has a cunning and sharp approach to storytelling within his illustrations. They often hold a birds-eye perspective and depict streetscapes laden with action – almost Where’s Wally-esque, however far wittier, littered with pop-culture references, and friendlier on the eyes through balanced and harmonious colour palettes. Milstein is also the most charitable artist on this list. In 2020 alone he has contributed to fundraisers for the Haiti hurricane relief, mutual aid funds, Black Lives Matter and more.

His instagram can be found here.

Sophie Birkin

Fashion designer cum illustrator Sophie Birkin has mounted an impressive oeuvre and formed a unique aesthetic over a relatively short period of time, having only started to focus on illustration in 2017. Her approach to colour patterns is thoughtful and intricate, her compositions well thought out and economical, and her minimal line work accentuates the interesting characters she depicts. Combined, Birkin places a unique, joyful and compelling subversion of the traditional ideas of queer identity and femininity.

Emerson Radisich is a curator, writer and educator currently based in Melbourne, Australia.