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Walkley Magazine honour for design student
Artwork by a University of the Sunshine Coast design student depicting some of Japan’s most famous icons affected by a nuclear disaster is set to feature in the next edition of The Walkley Magazine.
Carla McRae’s work, Dance of the Koi, includes cute kawaii and Pokemon characters covered in rashes, a two-headed geisha girl, an ill koi (carp) and even the resilient Genbaku Dome – which survived the Hiroshima atomic bomb blast – toppling over.
It nods to Katsushika Hokusai’s famous colour woodcut of The Great Wave off Kanagawa in conjuring the horror of the earthquake and tsunami disasters that have triggered Japan’s current nuclear crisis.
The Dance of the Koi has been earmarked to feature in the next edition of The Walkley Magazine in mid-July, alongside articles by journalists who are working as correspondents in Japan.
The Walkley Magazine editor Jaqueline Park said it was unusual for the magazine to publish an illustration by a student, but Carla’s work stood out as a perfect match for the articles.
Carla, 19, of Mudjimba is in the final year of a Bachelor of Arts (Design and Communication). Her work is currently on display at the USC Gallery as part of an exhibition, called Awake Me in Space, by advanced-level design students.
She said she was thrilled about gaining recognition from The Walkley Magazine.
“I was very surprised and excited when I found out,” Carla said. “It makes me feel proud that I’ve created something that other people enjoy looking at, and that it makes them feel something.
“It will definitely look good on my CV (curriculum vitae). I’m aiming to first become a graphic designer, gain some experience and then ultimately become an illustrator.
“I really like pop culture and graffiti styles and I guess I draw inspiration from Japanese art and culture.”
Carla said she had long been fascinated by Japan, and her interest was heightened during a school trip there when she was in Year 12 at Maroochydore State High School.
She said she was shocked in March when the earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, killing more than 15,000 people and damaging its nuclear reactors.
Ms Park said The Walkley Magazine was published every two months and featured analysis of Australian media issues by the country's top journalists, photographers, cartoonists and editors.
She said she was impressed by Carla’s work when it was shown to her by USC design tutor Justin Garnsworthy, a prominent figure in Australian design, illustration and art.
“From our point of view, we like artwork which independently reflects a view on a subject, and we felt that this one very much does that,” Ms Park said. “We like the way it is put together. It’s different from a lot of the art that we would have.”
USC Lecturer in Digital Design Dr Debra Livingston congratulated Carla on her success. She said being published in The Walkley Magazine would put Carla’s work in front of the Australian media industry and give her a leg up in her career.
— Terry Walsh