Serena Katt

 Professional talk Wednesdays. #1 

Serena Katt : 

Serena Katt published Sundays child in 2019. She is a Illustrator and writer interested in print making and narrative. She uses traditional illustration and initial sketches to create her work. In her Wednesday talk she mentions she is "fascinated with collecting memory."

Illustraited childrens book: Sunday's child

What's the story about?

 A reflective insight to what life was like in Nazi Germany for children using research on her grandfathers recollections and memories. Her father being Sunday's child. The story is not a children's book but falls somewhere between a graphic novel and  historical fiction. The book consists of a chronologically ordered recollection of memory of Serena's grandfather that captivates a journey of contradiction, asking questions and filling in gaps in time.

How did the artist find research?

Serena discovered sourced information from her grandfather like interview recordings, photographs, research on the internet, and research trips to significant places i.e a former Hitler youth initiation site. On these trips serena took photographs in which would be used and adapted in her drawings.

What did I personally think of the book/artists work?

Serena's illustrations to me felt almost familiar. They reminded me of old sepia photographs found on relatives mantlepieces or in stored boxes. There is something cold and dystopian in the images and tells the viewer exactly how things were in nazi Germany without censorship or deodorizing sensitive topics.   

What questions were asked in the talk?

-Was it difficult finding research for Sunday's child?

Serena explains that it wasn't too difficult to find research and it is surprising how much you can discover on the internet. she says she has an awareness that what she's researching is an edited archive and is only the 'tip of the iceberg' in history of the time. She says; "archives are not neutral spaces, they have the power and privilege to marginalize"