Travel Book Indonesia

ATAK, the pseudonym of East German-born graphic artist and children's illustrator Georg Barber, headed off to Indonesia with his wife and six-year-old son, tracing an itinerary across this continent‑sized archipelago of 17,500 islands. 'When we arrived in Sulawesi, I felt like we had been plunged into the first Avatar film!' the artist recalls. The lush vegetation is perfectly captured by ATAK’s vibrant use of colour: greens dripping with tropical moisture and contrasting with the blue, red and orange tones employed to depict the interiors of temples and palaces, urban scenes or sunsets with fiery skies. The changes in the colour palette are balanced by a play of scale: 'I wanted the reader to get a feel for the space around each place, but I also wanted to play with the varying focuses, returning to specific details to enlarge them, thus adding a different tempo.' ATAK is well known for being as much a graphic artist as a DJ in his compositions. He builds suspense, sharing his joy in the process, bringing the reader on the journey with him. He is thus also known today in France for the philosophical tale 'Comment la mort est revenue à la vie' (Thierry Magnier, 2007) with text by Muriel Bloch, followed by, among others, a new take on the Struwwelpeter story with Pierre-Crignasse (FRMK, 2011), the bucolic publications 'Dans un jardin' (Thierry Magnier, 2015) and 'Martha était là' (Les Fourmis Rouges, 2016) along with most recently, the eccentric picture book 'Pirates bric‑à‑brac' (Thierry Magnier, 2022).

Since the Travel Book Collection was created in 2010, it has invited artists from across the globe to explore places, such as a world centre, a countryside or a wilderness, they have never experienced. By entering unknown territory, they discover a new culture, different architecture or varied ways of life. The Travel Book Collection is a mirror of contemporary creation, reflecting the depth, breadth and diversity of the planet’s many aesthetic and artistic worlds. Each artist is free to choose their expressive technique, from drawing, painting and collage to illustration, manga or scratch card. This is coupled with their favourite material, be it pastel, oil,  watercolour, ink, pencil or pixels.