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Details
Artist:
Erin Aniker
Duration:
5 mins
Tagged:
Illustrative
Studio Sessions

Erin Aniker is an illustrator based between London and Istanbul whose bold and colourful people-driven illustrations draw inspiration from her upbringing and love of her home city of London, dual Turkish and British heritage, and the inclusive community she has grown up with in East London. We joined Erin at her studio in London, chatting with her about the influence live music, movement, and a rich cultural upbringing have had on her colourful work.

"I definitely have a childlike way of drawing, which is something I enjoy and I probably won't ever be able to lose."

Erin draws inspiration from the colour palettes and patterns found in psychedelic and op-art of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the patterns in Islamic art and works of artists such as Bridget Riley and Fahrelnissa Zeid, and women and human rights groups such as See Red Women's Workshop. 
On her love of the colour blue, she shares, "I went through a bit of a cobalt blue phase, which I'm still coming out of. I think it's quite a calming colour, and it's often used a lot in Iznik ceramics and a lot of Ottoman ceramics, which I'm quite inspired by as well. All those different influences fed into my work when I was growing up, and just stayed there. They haven't left me."
Her diverse cultural upbringing has also had a lasting impact on her work. She shared about her childhood: "I like that London adopts people from all different places. You can just make it your home. I had all these different cultures, and I had friends from so many different places, as well as growing up in East London. I think that's really fed into who I am as a person and the way that I love meeting people from so many different places and… having lots of different visual references from different cultures."

Alongside her personal work, Erin enjoys creating illustrations for use in editorials, books, advertising campaigns, and more.

    On the process of her art, she tells us, "I can't create the digital thing from scratch; it has to start off with paper, pencil, and paint, and then the digital thing grows from there."

    From April until September 2024, Erin’s work ‘She walked everywhere’ will be displayed at SPACE Ilford. The piece is a tribute to aspiring lawyer Zara Aleena, who was murdered in June 2022 as she walked home from an evening out in Ilford. Talking about the inspiration behind SPACE’s seventh billboard commission, Erin shared: “She walked everywhere highlights the many women walking for change. People make a place, and this artwork celebrates the women of Redbridge and East London, some of whom I was lucky enough to grow up with and who make up the many communities of Redbridge today."