Swedish illustrator Sara Andreasson has been commissioned by big names such as Nike, Selfridges and Converse. Her images are comprised of simple solid shapes outlines by contrasting colours. Her combinations of purple, pink, brown and mustard allow viewers to travel back in time to a 1970s colour palette.
Presenting women as powerful figures is a thread that is subtly carried through in all of her work. This can be seen through her stylistic choice to make female figures appear as the larger, dominant figures when illustrated among other characters or objects, in a similar manner to how one would establish a hero shot in a film through the use of the right camera angle.
She has decided to take a break from her commissioned work and to focus on more personal projects, mostly revolving around women and presenting a more direct relationship with feminist values. Her portrayal of women challenges the notion that beauty can only be defined by achieving a particular waist size.
“I try to make careful decisions in my work and strive to create images that aren’t reinforcing stereotypes…I identify as a feminist and I do consider some – but not all – of my work a form of low-key activism,” Andreasson expresses in an interview with i-D.
Andreasson, in partnership with her friend Josefine Hardstedt, publishes her own zine titled BBY. The foundation of this zine is to celebrate female and queer creatives, and contribute towards building “a sense of sisterhood.”
Visit her website to check out more of her work.
