March 2022

66
Wanstead Village Directory
ILLUSTRATING A POINT
Karina Laymen believes illustration is a servant of the creators of art. In
the second of a series of articles, the Wanstead House tutor presents a
piece of work inspired by a dream about the rapture
For centuries, illustration has been
considered a type of pseudo-art in
the sense of a non-self-generating
conceptual art. Illustration forms
part of that triangular relationship
of communication, where the author
generates the concept, story or event,
the public is the direct receptor or
passive interlocutor of the author and
the illustrator is that third ‘auxiliary’ part
who facilitates the understanding or
visualisation of the concept.
This humble position, outside a two-side flux
of communication, gives the illustrator an
honourable commission of servitude to the
public and the author, the substantial creator.
Society throughout the years, especially
from the 18th century onwards, has become
increasingly self-centred: in these last two
centuries, society has lifted a monument to
the ‘I’ and ‘yourself’ to the point of making an
individual’s existence a piece of art, placing
aside, ofttimes, the substance of the creator.
Art as a pure discipline features a more
introvert or narcissistic expression of the
individual, which is the creator, the author,
that shows us what dwells inside him or her:
feelings, experiences, psychological processes,
desires, memories, impressions and so on.
Therefore, in this bipartite relationship of artist
and viewer, the latter becomes an admirer of a
private experience of another individual.
The generous nature of illustration as a
position of servitude aims to exalt the
substance to be appreciated.
After 30 years of receiving persistent
‘commissions’ from an author, in 2019 I finally
decided to embrace the project and pass on
the message this especial creator has for the
public: my dreams of the end times.
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I
will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your
sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your
old men shall dream dreams, your young men
shall see visions… And also upon the servants
and upon the handmaids in those days will I
pour out my spirit… And I will shew wonders
in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and
fire, and pillars of smoke,” (Joe 2:28– 2:30, King
James Bible).
I had this dream around 2003. Musicians in
red outfits were playing their instruments on
the clouds, meteors were hitting the ground,
thousands of people were wearing dark and
dirty clothes, as if they’d just come out of a
war, and the moon was growing and growing;
it was getting larger and occupied a big part
of the reddish sky.
Lying ill on my bed, I was dying, my mum
crying next to me, but at the same time, I
was standing by the broken wall watching
everything, my sister at the window very
excited because of the huge moon.
Let’s pay attention to our dreams. We might
not be the author, so let’s be “a faithful
servant”.
To view more of Karina’s work, visit
wnstd.com/karina
Karina teaches art classes every Friday at
Wanstead House from 10am to 12pm. She
also runs bespoke illustration courses for
small groups. For more information, visit
wnstd.com/riae or call 020 8550 2398
To advertise, call 020 8819 6645 or visit wnstd.com