Daphne Christoforou
Daphne Christoforou is an illustrator from Cyprus. She has recently graduated from the Royal College of Art (London) and was lucky enough to be the Winner of the V&A student Illustrator of the Year Award (London) as well as the Winner of the Adobe Achievement Award in Illustration (Los Angeles). She is fascinated by ancient oriental artwork such as Hindu imagery, Tibetan iconography and Indian Miniature painting. Daphne is drawn to the visual richness, naiveté and historical context of this imagery, but most importantly to its depth of meaning and link with eastern philosophy and spirituality. These are elements that she aims to incorporate in her work, with a contemporary twist.
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Abstract
The full time artist
The presentation will focus on personal work undertaken so far including an MA at the Royal College of Art in London, as well as previous commercial work.
A large part of the talk will be about the designer’s fascination with Eastern imagery and its link with philosophy, spirituality and even psychology. Buddhist teachings and visuals have been described as ‘the manual of life’ and the Buddha as a great psychologist. Even though not Buddhist in religion, Daphne finds the related teachings to be particularly helpful for everyday life and - as in Buddhist traditions - enjoys visually communicating them through diagrammatic illustrations. It could be that this sort of engagement impacts the viewer, who identifies with some of the experiences/feelings described in her artwork.
Daphne will also talk about working on different surfaces and how some formats (such as wall hangings, pots, etc.) have certain historical weight, as well as the challenges of switching formats.
The focus is on the projects she is working on at the moment and the challenges and risks of being a creative artist in Cyprus, the importance of entering work in international competitions, having an online presence, as well as exercising discipline and good time management.