New edition of the LAP Illustration Day at EADTarragona
On Thursday, February 6, we celebrated the LAP (Labyrinth in the Pool) at EADTarragona.
A day to advocate for drawing as a form of emotional expression. On this occasion, the students were advocating for anger! We had the presence of artist Chantal Vizcaíno and illustrator Cinta Villalobos, who exhibited their works and led a debate on illustrated anger.
Villalobos then held a workshop with the students of the Higher Degree in Illustration.
Marta Escobar and Adrià Ramírez, from the Association of Illustrators of Tarragona, also participated, explaining the publication of a guide for participating in fair and non-abusive contests.
Chantal Vizcaíno and her commitment to Gaza
Chantal Vizcaíno explained the project she is currently working on, focused on the genocide in Gaza. It is based on reflecting on the complexity of the images that reach us from the conflict and how we are able, after seeing the body of a child, to scroll to the next post on social media as if nothing had happened.
Her reflection was illustrated by images from the documentary No Other Land, which tells the story of the destruction of small villages in the southernmost part of the West Bank by Israel.
She then explained the project "Apadrina un petit estel", a collage of 10x10 cm pieces, in blue, with a painted star inside that includes the name and age of a child who has lost their life in Gaza since October 2023. The piece has an ambitious and dramatic title: "14,000 Stars for Gaza."
Anger and emotions of Cinta Villalobos
Next, illustrator Cinta Villalobos talked about her illustrated album, which is precisely titled "Rabia" (Anger). The author of both the text and illustrations explained the process of creating the project, the style of the illustrations, which were initially gentle but later underwent a process of color treatment and line work that gave them great strength and energy. The main reflection that Cinta Villalobos conveyed, and which forms the basis of the book, is how a violent response only breeds more violence.
After the two presentations by the invited guests, a round of questions began, which the audience had placed in a box. Both Chantal and Cinta answered these questions, which revolved around how we can channel the anger we feel from different social or personal situations, how we can respond to it, or how we can recover from a bad experience or disappointment.
The involvement of the students
In addition to the talks that started the day, the illustration students presented various interventions related to the LAP, such as a fanzine made by first-year illustration students, an exhibition of illustrations by Cinta Villalobos, another exhibition of works by illustration students, the "Home Sweet Home" intervention by the Graphic Design students, a talk by members of the AIT (Association of Illustrators of Tarragona) about the issues surrounding contest bases, and two photographic exhibitions on themes of conflict and human rights violations, specifically the collective exhibition "Llibertats perdudes" and the work "Pais de Calais" by photographer and EADT professor Sergi Grau, which portrays the harsh conditions of immigrants crossing from Calais to the UK.
The day ended with a workshop by illustrators Cinta Villalobos and Marta Escobar with the illustration students.
