Published January 4, 2010 by Molly
Art objects that are labeled “enigmatic” are oftentimes one of two things: totally amazing or utterly head-scratching. In rare situations—let’s call it the intersection of metaphor and reality—they can be both things at once. Folks, it’s not easy!
Souvlaki Circus homes in on the target. Amanda Vähämäki (of The Bun Field fame) is the author of the magnetic little collection co-created with Michelangelo Setola and lovingly produced in a pocket-sized volume with a silkscreened canvas cover. The mostly-wordless assemblage of pencil drawings explores man vs. nature themes with humor and delicacy, resulting in bubble-like epiphanies for those who choose to study the pages carefully.
Needless to say, the Finland-born Vähämäki also has the rad distinction of a triple-umlautted last name. So as you can see, there is nothing not awesome about the artist.
Published October 23, 2009 by Graham
Picture a dream you’ve had that wasn’t a straight-up nightmare, but was terrifying. Now place that dream in the context of childhood’s special bewilderment– the type of uneasiness that hooks itself into our pre-adolescent lives like a parasite. I’m talking about weird foods and growling dogs, the uncertain authority of family friends and foreign cartoons swirling about in a sinister haze. Couple all that clammy awkwardness with the distinctly creepy fantasies of the Scandinavian sub-conscious, and you’ve got something close to what The Bun Field is.
Following a young girl through an interior world of rumbling chaos, Amanda Vahamaki’s concise comic book depicts the palpitating psyche of a worried child with breathtakingly naturalistic charm. For pondering all the pernicious phantasms that haunt our heroine’s world, we’re rewarded with flashes of tender humor, like a scene in which the young girl argues with a small bear about which of them is better qualified to operate a vehicle.
Check out a PDF preview of the book here. Oh, and Amazon is currently selling it for $1.94, so you would be foolish not to add a copy to your cart!
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