Menu
The New Contemporary Art Magazine

The Unsettling Illustrations, Murals of Nemo’s

Nemo's crafts illustrations and murals with vague, sometimes grotesque characters often shown in reflection or anguish. When the viewer looks past the unsettling circumstances of these drawings and paintings, they may find something relatable in the emotions evoked in each piece. Just like the name of the artist, the works serve multiple functions.

Nemo’s crafts illustrations and murals with vague, sometimes grotesque characters often shown in reflection or anguish. When the viewer looks past the unsettling circumstances of these drawings and paintings, they may find something relatable in the emotions evoked in each piece. Just like the name of the artist, the works serve multiple functions.

“When I began drawing on walls in the streets I needed to find a name for myself … ,” the artist says. “I decided that name would be Nemo. Nemo like the captain from (“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”), who fought battles against the war, the injustices in the world and the silences of the sea. Nemo like the main character from one of Winsor McKay’s first comic strips, in which he narrates the nightmares this boy has every night about amazing adventures in a fantastic kingdom called Slumberland. Last but not least Nemo like the latin word for ‘no one.’ I have always liked the idea of calling myself with a name that means ‘no one,’ that makes my work even more mysterious. I added “’s”, the possessive case, because it refers to my art, so the translation goes from ‘no one’ to ‘no one’s” and this completes the paradox of this way to identify myself.”

See more work by the artist below.

Meta
Share
Facebook
Reddit
Pinterest
Email
Related Articles
Berlin-based artist Reka recently travelled to London for his current solo show "Trip the Light" at StolenSpace Gallery (see our preview here) and left a mural behind in the Shoreditch district. While the graceful movements of dancers' bodies served as the inspiration for the paintings in Reka's exhibition, the mural took on a more playful, illustrative look despite its shared Modernist aesthetic. Over a black background, Reka painted free-flowing, abstract forms. Some of them emerge as illustrations of specific objects — a fish head, a chess piece with an all-seeing eye — while others keep the viewer asking questions. Is that a spray can with the punk slogan ACAB? The whimsical piece is intended to keep us guessing.
C7 is the moniker of Hiroko Shiina, a Japanese artist who creates surreal and bleak illustrations with multiple tools. She’s used acrylics, ink, colored pencil, and even coffee to craft her moody works. Her works appears to be informed by dreams, the natural world, and isolated emotions.
Illustrator Kima Lenaghan's series “Homo Conscius” imagines an evolved place "where genuine and profound consciousness is found." The artist’s solitary drawings offer both tangible and dreamlike elements, exaggerating aspects of nature and extracting them in sparse narratives. The "Stoned Ape Hypothesis" from ethnobotanist Terrance McKenna, theorizing that early humans evolved due to psychedelic mushrooms, serves as inspiration here.
Scott M. Fischer is widely known for his illustrative works, whether it’s comic book covers, kids' books, concept design, or game art. Yet his fine art practice, free from the confines of depicting set characters or situations, offers a different look at the artist. His hyperdetailed, dreamlike works recall both classical influences and a contemporary edge, while blending digital and traditional tools.

Subscribe to the Hi-Fructose Mailing List