Aimée de Jongh: Drawing Where Cameras Are Forbidden at ILFD
Cartoonist Aimée de Jongh discusses the power of journalistic comics to show hidden places and previews her forthcoming graphic novel, inspired by her visits to refugee camps in Greece.
“They understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought.” William Golding, Lord of the Flies
Cartoonist Aimée de Jongh discusses the power of journalistic comics to show hidden places and previews her forthcoming graphic novel, inspired by her visits to refugee camps in Greece.
Cartoonist Aimée de Jongh travelled to refugee camps on the Greek islands to make a drawn reportage from the inside. Cameras were not allowed inside, but bringing a sketchpad and pencils was not illegal. For the first time, the people, their homes, restrooms, and camp cafés were documented and published in Europe’s Waiting Room.
Aimée de Jongh is an award-winning comics author and animator. The Return of the Honey Buzzard, her first graphic novel, won the Prix Saint-Michel for best Dutch graphic novel. Her interest in travel, ecology, and journalism resulted in the historical graphic novel Days of Sand. In 2024, she imagined the classic Lord of the Flies as a graphic novel.
Part of New Dutch Writing, supported by the Dutch Foundation for Literature.
Duration: 1 hour