Interview time! CBC chats to illustrator Jacob Sharpe.
As promised, here's our interview with illustrator and Gloucestershire Uni graduate Jacob Sharpe. His work is currently on display at the British library as part of their Beowulf exhibition, and he was nice enough to take some time to tell Creative Boom a bit more about the legend and his own work....
Hi Jacob! Perhaps you could start by telling us a little bit about Beowulf....
Beowulf is an Old English Epic Poem about a hero who battles and defeats 3 creatures that are terrorising the warriors of a mead hall called Heorot in Denmark. The 3 creatures are Grendel, Grendel's mother and lastly a dragon. The Poem is split into these 3 parts (my representation covers parts 1 and 2, as part 3 takes place later on in his life). The poem is represented on a single surviving manuscript that is around a 1000 years old.
What sparked your interest in illustrating the poem?
I love reading about and am fascinated by English history so that is where my initial interest came from. I found the narrative allowed for so many great individual images that I decided to illustrate the whole poem.
There's been some pretty strong viual representations of the character in the past. Did you look to any past representations when you were working on the project, or did your imagery come directly from the poem?
I didn't really draw from any past representations of Beowulf but drew from a wide range of medieval imagery. As I was working in silhouettes I found photos from battle re-enactments to be a great source of inspiration for striking outlines, especially the more action packed images.
How did the project come to be picked up by the British Library?
The British Library came across my work at the London Book Fair. My university had a table at the event on which we were displaying our work and luckily someone involved in the Beowulf exhibition spotted my work. I was very fortunate really.
How would you describe your style? Are you particularly influenced by any other illustrators?
I would describe my work as being based around medieval history/ myths and legends. And usually quite dark, as I'm also inspired by horror films and its imagery. I predominantly use relief printing with pieces of vinyl and represent images in the form of silhouettes. I am inspired by most medieval imagery and architecture. But I cannot think of any specific illustrators, its mainly stories that I read that create the imagery in my head.
Are there any other texts you'd like to work with?
There are lots of classic texts/ stories I'd like to work with. I have illustrated and bound a short narrative of St George and the Dragon. And I have been creating images based around different angelic mythology, like the angels war in heaven. I look for a subject that can be used to create very dramatic scenes; as I'm working in silhouette and so need to solely rely on the outline of the characters to draw the viewer in. I would like to illustrate some narratives around the lives and actions of Edward I and Edward III. And also the Crusades.
Have you got any other projects in the pipeline at the moment?
At the moment I am working on a short children's book, both images and text. Its a different style than my Beowulf work and a lot more colourful. I'm also still illustrating in silhouettes, I designed and printed a series of cards that I have been selling at local art fairs along with my other work.
To see more of Jacob's work you can visit www.thehangingbadger.com or email thehangingbadger@hotmail.com for more details.
