Mystery and melancholy echo hauntingly around the vast virtual expanses concocted by recent graduate Emily Gilbert. Named after the Wuthering Heights author, the Bournemouth-based illustrator was destined for a life embroiled in pensive literature but, choosing ink of a different variety, now bills herself as a ‘graphic novelist’ – her self-published novel, Encounter, providing a solid platform for the fledgling creative in its dark, arcane content. Landscapes, dreams, fantasies – Gilbert’s contemplative narrative-based work explores other worlds and other planes, dwelling on cinematic inspiration, dripping with flair and finesse.
Treading the first steps to what is sure to be a flourishing career in storytelling through evocative imagery, we caught up with Emily to chat memories, inspirations, obsessions and psychoanalysis – strap yourself in, load up on the pre-sleep cheese, and drift off to an ethereal world of claustrophobic fantasy.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I have recently graduated the Arts University Bournemouth, I love reading, writing, watching films, documentaries and spend my time thinking about everything way too much.
What is your earliest memory?
For some reason I have many memories from quite a young age, perhaps as young as two. My favourite is of me sat with the first friend I remember making, Christopher, and drawing an indigo and white zebra thinking it looked pretty good.
Recently graduated, what’s the plan now?
It has taken quite a while to organise my life and adjust to a lot of my friends leaving, moving out and moving around. However, I don’t like to be without a plan, so finally I have moved into a studio located in Bournemouth town centre called Nest Space, it is part of growing community of creative people within the community. This means I will be around other creative people within other practices as freelancing can become quite isolating at times. I would like to work on a new graphic novel and aim to publish it, as well as creating work for various publishing companies. I love books, so anything that is bound appeals to me. I am also getting back into using colour, as the work for my last graphic novel involved a lot of black ink.
Dark, brooding atmosphere plays a key role in your literature-inspired illustrations – do the scenarios come straight from the pages of books via your imagination, or are there visual inspirations in there somewhere – fellow artists, movies etc.?
My inspiration comes from all sorts of avenues. That is partly what I really enjoy about my practice, is that often it isn’t illustration that I’m looking at, but film, literature, dance, music or science. I love reading, and often visual ideas will come straight from the pages of books. However, it is often always a mixture of things. I love looking at comics and graphic novels for inspiration, but this year I discovered that actually drawing from events and experiences in my own life really enriches my work. Even if it doesn’t make it into a final outcome, taking the risk of making work that is highly personal somehow offers so much more inspiration for my narratives than just keeping things distant from my life and just fulfilling a brief. I particularly enjoy drawing from my dreams or an odd or confusing conversation I may have had with someone.
I love the work of Eleanor Davis who does similar work in her sketch blog. I just enjoy narrative so much, whether it is just a couple of sequence images, one conveying a whole book or a graphic novel, there is so much to be explored in this medium. As for films, I love sci-fi, so classics like Blade Runner I have always found very influential. I’ve always had a bit of an affinity with Star Wars as well. I love the work of Nicolas Winding Refn, Tarantino and the writing Matt Fractions does for comics like Casanova and Hawkeye.
Any obsessions or passions outside of art and creativity?
I think I am possibly a little obsessed with psychology and it is quite often a strong theme within my sketch book and more personal work, ironically I did quite badly when I studied it in school. I am very interested and continuously confused by people, and tend to over-think and obsess about the behaviour of others relating to my own. It is also a passion in a lot of ways, I strive to constantly understand things and find an explanation for everything I see around me. This can be enlightening and frustrating, especially when I cannot figure something out.
I guess I just like to psychoanalyse, I don’t take my analysis too seriously though, I just think about everything far too much! Ultimately I have discovered, that everyone has very similar problems and insecurities, they just react to them in very different ways.
What piece of work, or professional achievement, are you most proud of?
Probably my graphic novel, Encounter, that I self published. I’m still surprised I like most of the work and I feel I discovered a way of working that has really propelled my practice further. I really love ink, especially black ink, high contrasts, swallowing landscapes and the mundane contrasted with the surreal.
Where do you feel most inspired?
I don’t exactly have a specific location, this is because I feel most inspired when I have variety and excitement in my life. Change of scenery, people and conversations, I need an environment that is stimulating and tranquil at the same time. I’m not actually sure how possible that is. I hate being coped up all day every day, I like to go out and see the world. I also really love the cities Berlin and London, and always find them inspiring alongside architecture, pylons, trees and cats. I love urban and rural environments, so I have no idea where I am going to end up living.
How would you like to be remembered?
I have found this question the hardest. I have nothing other than; I would like to be remembered for the work that I do. Hopefully for a graphic novel I published. We’ll see I guess. The first illustrator to take commissions from space?
