The theme of "contagious" for Illustration Friday. They try to escape but the pestilence follows them and spreads. The problem lies with the way they live their lives. There are references to Pig Flu, Bird Flu, Foot and Mouth Disease, Blue Tongue, Bubonic Plague, Chicken Pox and the Common Cold, if you can find them... Fun plague quiz! :-)

Hierarchical Tale

This is a story of the downside of having a hierarchical order. The crowds flock to see poor creatures fight for their lives, while mobsters and local chiefs look on from their luxurious positions, profiting from the crowds watching the small mammals and birds goaded into fighting each other. By going to see this, the individuals in the crowd support the power of the chiefs and so perpetuate what goes on in the arena. Tales of heroism and ferocity emerge from these shows and the lucky creatures that do well can go on to become legends, respected by the crowd and talked about for years to come. The inspiration comes from the Illustration Friday topic, “hierarchy”. Although I have never personally witnessed these gatherings, I know they happen and I have heard first hand accounts of what goes on there.

existential crisis

The idea for this comes from the busy street. So many individuals rushing around and stressed out, often hostile, trying to get to their destinations. The individual and their wishes are swamped by the crowd which becomes a single unhappy entity. The idea is of wanting to escape but feeling trapped and hopeless but also seeing just how ridiculous our behaviour is, taking everything so seriously and missing the good things in life. Anger, stress and depression can be funny if you have perspective.

childhood map

This is an idea based on childhood stories, when any gaps in knowledge were filled with imaginary and often dangerous mythical creatures. Some of the things above were real or based on reality, others were imagined and were kept alive by other children talking about them as if they were real. I didn't know what glue sniffers were, but they sounded bad, so I imagined they were some kind of demonic creatures. And no one actually saw the witch because she was often on holiday. The world seemed so dangerous in those days, but it was also exciting and new, without the weary cynicism of adulthood.

moth geek

I did this a couple of months ago... the idea is a of geeky collector surrounded by his obsession (collecting moths) and totally lost in his own eccentric world. I like the idea that he is this old-fashioned person, like a Victorian collector, but using the technology of the modern geek. These kinds of people are actually quite interesting, but maybe saying that reveals my own geeky side!